The 11 focus areas listed on the third survey were:

Social and Emotional Focus

• Better meet the needs of students in terms of their social and emotional needs.

• Increase the number of school counselors to deal with mental health issues.

• Continue to develop supports for students, including Multi-Tiered System of Supports and wrap-around services.

• Create more partnerships with counselors and mental health professionals.

• Continue to offer and expand mental health support.

• Teach students the skills to communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.

• Expand on opportunities for students to learn self-advocacy and to learn from failure.

New Learning Styles Focus 

• Better support for our students who struggle academically.

• Create more opportunities for students for hands-on learning experiences.

• Implement new and exciting instructional approaches so that students are more engaged in learning.

• Create more opportunities and learning strategies for students at the Academy and Success Academy.

Career Education Focus 

• Create more opportunities for on-the-job training.

• Expand career and technical education training for students.

• Partner with local businesses to create more career learning opportunities.

• Increase the number of higher learning/early college opportunities.

• Create more opportunities for “blue-collar” occupations.

New Programs and Student Opportunities Focus 

• Develop and implement a military education partnership for students like ROTC.

• Expand guidance counseling to be more career and college-focused.

• Create more options for advanced students.

• Increase opportunities for independent study for secondary students.

• Expand foreign language options for students, such as American Sign Language

• Invest in after school tutoring programs at no cost to parents.

• Create courses where students learn more about personal finances, new types of currency, and budgeting.

• Create courses on safe practices such as distracted driving or impaired driving.

Teacher and Staff Compensation and Health Focus 

• Increase teacher pay to be competitive to attract and retain top talent.

• Increase the salary structure for all staff members.

• Become one of the higher-paying school districts in the Kansas City area.

• Make it a priority to retain top teaching talent.

• Expand mental health support for staff.

Facility Focus 

• Create or implement smaller class sizes.

• Construct a second high school.

• Build more schools to stay ahead of the enrollment growth.

• Create facilities that can be flexible to accommodate the needs of various teaching methods.

• Continue to provide for maintenance to existing facilities.

Time as a Resource Focus 

• Switch the start times for elementary and secondary schools.

• Stagger the starting times between middle schools and high school.

• Critically evaluate how the school calendar is structured to allow for the best teaching and learning practices.

• Create a calendar to allow more time for staff to plan and prepare for student lessons and student support.

Cultural Inclusivity and Awareness Focus

• Expand the district’s cultural inclusivity and cultural awareness of staff and students.

• Create a safe and welcoming environment for all of our minority and marginalized students.

• Be cautious and selective with diversity and inclusion programs.

• Increase efforts to diversify the teacher and leadership staff.

Financial Excellence Focus 

• Ensure the district remains financially sound with appropriate reserve balances.

Bullying and Discipline Focus

• Expand and improve efforts to combat bullying at school.

• Strictly enforce discipline and appearance policies.

• Expand teacher and staff training to deal with discipline issues.

• Provide more support for teachers and staff in the area of behavioral management.

Instruction Focus 

• Rebuild and recover from learning interruption caused by the pandemic.

• Continue to emphasize rigorous instruction.

• Improve the gifted program.

• Continue the expansion into Project-Based Learning.

• Implement better alignment of the curriculum.

• Expand on the use of student voice and choice in their learning.

Focus Areas Not Included in the Top 11:

Activities and Athletics Focus

• Expand middle school sports opportunities.

• Create more opportunities in the performing arts.

• Create more opportunities for students in extracurricular activities.

• Invest in more sports facilities.

• Upgrade current sports facilities.

Cutting Edge Focus

• Create a new magnet school or more programs for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).

• Begin work on implementing augmented and virtual reality in teaching and learning.

• Be a district that is known for cutting-edge technology and programs for students.

• Expand the use of technology as a tool for student learning.

Expansion of Current Opportunities Focus

• Increase the number of elective opportunities for students.

• Expand the robotics program.

• Expand the virtual program (VIPR).

• Expand the LEAD Center programs.

 Communication Focus

• Increase communication efforts about the needs of families and students in poverty.

• Create additional communication opportunities between parents and schools/Board.

• Create more school-related informational resources for parents utilizing a variety of communication delivery methods.