Even though school is out, summer is a critical time for our district. Several of us are still here, busily preparing for next fall. We make repairs and improvements to our buildings and campus grounds. We close out budgets and reflect on the progress of last school year. We enroll students for the new school year and ensure all new employees are ready to go. And, we make important plans for the upcoming school year. This summer, we are working hard in these areas, and I wanted to highlight a few for you:

• Strategic plan: As I shared with you in April and described in more detail in May, I was very intentional in 2022-23 to spend time connecting with students, parents, employees, and community members as part of the process to build Maize USD 266's next strategic plan. We are still hard at work finalizing the details, and I am excited to share more with you soon!

• New partnership with additional support in elementary schools: We have been working with community partners to develop a new partnership that will be in all five of our elementary schools in 2023-24. Please read more below about how, thanks in part to the support of the Love Like Remi Foundation, Maize USD 266 will partner with The Pando Initiative to provide students with mentoring, life skills development, and support to meet basic needs.

• D.A.R.E. program: You may have seen in our May special edition Maize Pulse that we are reintroducing the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program to our district. Beginning in the fall, 5th grade students will have the opportunity to complete the D.A.R.E. program thanks to our awesome partnership with the Maize Police Department.

• Maize Rumble on the River: We have named the game! We are excited about the upcoming Maize High School-Maize South High School football game Sept. 29 at Riverfront Stadium, home of the Wichita Wind Surge. We are making plans for this fun game and community gathering, so stay tuned! Thank you to everyone who suggested name ideas recently. Congratulations to Maize South Middle School incoming 8th grade student Megan Burgess, whose suggestions inspired the Maize Rumble on the River event name!

Please enjoy the sun, the long days, and the opportunity to do things you love with the people you love this summer. We are working hard to ensure our next school year is even better for our students! See you in August!

Sincerely,

Dr. Raquel Greer

Superintendent of Schools

• On Twitter: @rockigreer
• Email: rgreer@usd266.com
• Online: www.usd266.com/superintendent

Thanks in part to the support of the Love Like Remi Foundation, Maize USD 266 will partner with The Pando Initiative to bring additional assistance to elementary students beginning with the 2023-24 school year. Employees with the non-profit Pando Initiative will work in all five elementary schools to provide students with mentoring, life skills development, and support to meet basic needs.

Maize USD 266 educators and employees expressed during employee listening sessions that this type of extra support is one of the most pressing instructional needs they face. A qualified Pando expert will be placed in each elementary school, and team members will work to improve student attendance, behavior, and academic performance. Students will be invited to participate in lunch groups with personalized goal-setting, social groups, and academic games that spark students’ interest in topics such as coding. Student participants will be identified through a case referral process, and parents will be invited to provide consent for their child’s participation in the program before involvement. The goal is to help students and their families navigate and remove barriers to learning and life obstacles that prevent wellness, learning, and success in the classroom and beyond.

The Pando Initiative, which has worked in the greater community with more than 220,000 students since 1990, is active in school districts in Wichita, Derby, and Haysville. Pando is Latin for “to spread out.” The Pando Initiative spreads out in the community, working with existing resources and programs, including the Kansas Food Bank's Food 4 Kids.

The Love Like Remi Foundation is in honor of Remington Young, a 2019 Maize High School graduate who battled mental health throughout her life. She was the victim of suicide in 2022, and her family began the Foundation to honor her legacy and to support students who are navigating pressures and expectations to perform at the highest level. The Foundation works to remove the stigma associated with students seeking help with these challenges. The Foundation wants to bring its mission to Remi’s former school district and its students. The Foundation is determined to privately raise funds to support this program. The community will invest time, resources, and funding into this partnership.

Learn more

• Click here to visit The Pando Initiative’s website.
• Click here to visit the Love Like Remi Foundation website.

Get involved

• To get involved with The Pando Initiative, click here.
• To get involved with Love Like Remi, click here.

From left, Maize USD 266 Superintendent Dr. Raquel Greer, Amy Young and Carmen Johnson with the Love Like Remi Foundation, Penny Olsen and Karen Blucher with The Pando Initiative, and Sedgwick County Commissioner Ryan Baty with the Love Like Remi Foundation.

Maize USD 266 is excited to announce that Chad Cramer will return to Maize Middle School as principal for the 2023-24 school year! Since July 2019, he has been the Valley Center Middle School Principal. He has 14 years of experience with Maize USD 266. He worked from 2010 to June 2019 as the Maize Middle School Assistant Principal and Athletic Director and taught science, technology, and English in the school from 2005 to 2009. He also has experience teaching at Lindsborg Middle School.

During his time at Maize, he served on committees including Maize USD 266’s Crisis Team, Maize Middle School Building Leadership Team, Facility Needs Committee, and Student Support Network. He also assisted with Maize Middle School’s construction project from 2016 to 2018. He has experience as Maize Middle’s head football coach, assistant football coach, and assistant basketball coach.

Chad is a graduate of Kansas State University, Wichita State University, and Baker University. His hire was approved by the Maize Board of Education on Monday, May 8.

Additional leadership updates:

• As previously announced, Amanda Kingrey will officially join Maize USD 266 on July 1 as Associate Superintendent, Teaching & Learning 7-12.
• As previously shared, Kevin Roulhac will return to Maize USD 266 as the Maize Intermediate School Principal for the upcoming school year.
• Maize South Middle School Assistant Principal Megan Hemmerling will be the 2023-24 Vermillion Elementary School Assistant Principal.
• Lori Andersen, K-6 Maize Virtual Preparatory School teacher, will be the school's Assistant Principal in 2023-24.
• Maize Virtual K-8 Principal Melinda Holmes will be the school's K-12 Principal in 2023-24.
• Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) teacher Jessica Buchanan will be Assistant Principal at Maize South Middle School in 2023-24.
• Amy Zwetow will be assistant principal at Maize High School.

Maize USD 266 is exploring options for improvements and upgrades to our district website, www.usd266.com. We welcome feedback via a survey regarding our current website. The survey closes at noon Monday, June 26.

Help drive students to success: Join the Maize USD 266 team of dedicated bus drivers for the 2023-24 school year! Employee benefits of driving our students include:

• A school day work schedule, with holidays, weekends, and summers off
• Full- or part-time opportunities available
• Health benefits provided if working at least 25 hours per week
• Your child can ride along with you
• Paid training available
• Competitive pay

We look forward to having you as part of our #266Success. Apply online at www.usd266.com/careers.

Join our custodial team today for the 2023-24 school year. Maize USD 266 custodial staff work full-time year-round and have paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave benefits. Join our team of custodians today and be part of our #266Success by applying online at www.usd266.com/careers.

You are invited to attend Maize USD 266's Classified Job Fair events on July 20 and July 26 at Maize Middle School, 4600 N. Maize Road in Maize. The district is hiring for various hourly support staff positions in several departments. Help us make a difference in our community and in the lives of our students! Please stay tuned for additional job fair information to come.

Congratulations to Rey Ramirez, Maize South High School soccer coach, who was named among 2022 National Coaches of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches organization. He was recognized in the Small Public School Boys category of the awards program. Under his leadership, the Maize South High School Mavericks boys soccer team had a perfect 21-0 season in 2022 and a Kansas high school 5A state victory! The Mavericks were the first Wichita-area team to win the Class 5A state championship in 20 years.

Congratulations to Bryce Cohoon, who won the state championship this year for the 200-meter race as a Maize High School senior! He plans to attend Syracuse University in the fall and playing on the school's football team.

The OneMaize musical Legally Blonde, which was performed by Maize High School and Maize South High School in February, was recently honored as part of the Music Theatre Wichita Jester Awards program, which celebrates exceptional high school music theater statewide. Congratulations to Hayden Sewell, who received a Jester Award for Outstanding Cameo Performer as Kyle the UPS Guy as a Maize South High School senior.

Student nominees also included:

• Taylor Steimle, Maize South High School senior: Technical Achievement
• Lillian Cassity, Maize South High School senior: Best Supporting Actor
• Emilie Lange, Maize South High School senior: Best Leading Actor
• Adam Akers: Design Guest (sound)

Additional regional student honors include:

• Overall Outstanding Production
• Dashall Meyer, Maize High School junior: Best Leading Actor
  
• Emma Dugan, Maize High School junior: Best Supporting Actor
• Tatum Hoard, Maize South High School senior; Marley Vest, Maize High School junior; Avery Scribner, Maize South High School junior; Lilyanah Cook, Maize High School sophomore; Payten LaPoint, Maize High School sophomore; and Kaitlin Kelley, Maize South High School freshman: Best Small Ensemble
• All cast members: Best Chorus
• Legally Blonde Remix: Best Production Number
• Naama Marcos and Kristen Sewell, Maize South High School parents: Best Lobby Display
  

The Maize Board of Education's next monthly meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, July 10 in the classrooms at the Maize Performing Arts and Aquatics Center, 1155 W. Academy in Maize. Meetings are open to the public. Find a link to meeting agendas and minutes, school board member information, and policies at www.usd266.com/schoolboard. Regular monthly meetings are broadcast live at bit.ly/Maize266YouTube.

Kansas families can participate this summer in the Sunflower Summer educational program, which promotes learning and engagement and provides free access to more than 100 venues, including museums, zoos, historic landmarks, and other attractions.

Participants can access an updated Apple or android mobile app for phones or tablet devices. Each Kansas child and up to two accompanying adults may each access one ticket voucher to each of the participating attractions in the Sunflower Summer app at no charge.

Visit www.sunflowersummer.org for a full list of venues, answers to frequently asked questions, and additional information.

This summer, the program also includes Story Adventures at El Dorado State Park and other locations, a Sunflower Summer Family Camp, Wichita Wind Surge Sunflower Sundays at Wichita's Riverfront Stadium, and Summer Camps and Enrichment.

The summer enrichment program is funded by federal COVID-19 money and will run through Aug. 13 or until funding runs out, whichever comes first. Since its launch in 2021, the program has expanded each year, and more than 164,000 students and 110,000 adults have participated, according to the Kansas State Department of Education. Funding for the Sunflower Summer program is limited, and tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Check out Maize USD 266's Facebook page by clicking here to view photos from the final weeks of the 2022-23 school year. Click on the photos below to view galleries of additional photos.

Silver Fox, the east-west roadway that connects Tyler and Maize roads south of Maize South Middle School and Maize South Elementary School, will undergo improvements this summer. Please be aware of the roadwork schedule:

• June 5 through 16: Curb work will occur, but Silver Fox will remain open.
• June 19 and June 20: The portion of Silver Fox between the two roundabouts south of Maize South Elementary School will be closed.
• June 21 through June 27: The portion of Silver Fox between the roundabout nearest Maize South Middle School and Tyler Road will be closed. During this time, please access Maize South Middle School from the north by entering campus near Maize South High School.

Maize Schools apologizes for the inconvenience but looks forward to making improvements this summer. Thank you.

Please click on the map below to see a larger version.

Children up to age 18 can access free meals through the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) summer meal programs. No registration or application is required. Click here to find a free meal location near you.

August

• Aug. 11: Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Aug. 15: First Day of School for all of grades 1 through 9 and pre-K and kindergarten students with last names beginning with letters A through K
• Aug. 16: Second day of school, with school in session for all of grades 1 through 12 and pre-K and kindergarten students with last names beginning with letters L through Z
• Aug. 17: School in session for all grades Pre-K- through 12