Great Bend Post
The Ellinwood school district will be seeking community feedback to
receive input on a variety of school improvement initiatives and actions.
USD
355 Superintendent Ben Jacobs sent a letter to parents and patrons of the
Ellinwood school district stating the district is engaging in a rigorous
improvement process. Among items for discussion are a four-day versus a
five-day school week, offering band, grade school art, post-secondary success,
classroom engagement, attendance, behavior incidents and assessment scores.
Jacobs mentioned multiple issues the Ellinwood school district is struggling
with right now which has initiated talks of changes and the need to improve.
USD 355 is projected to experience declining enrollment over the next decade,
including graduating classes in the high 30s to low 40s and introducing
kindergarten classes in the high 20s or low 30s. The district had approximately
540 to 560 students in the early 2000s. Currently, USD 355 has 390 to 410
students and is projected to have less than 350 students over the next decade.
Superintendent Jacobs mentioned the district often receives zero applications for
vacancies. Another issue listed was addressing the needs of all children has
never been more challenging with diverse and exotic student behaviors,
differing expectations of academic performance, distractions involving
technology and social media and finally mental health and social emotional
issues.
The Ellinwood school district will be issuing a survey in the near future to
all parents and patrons of the school district to receive input.
