LEAD Innovation Studio

Website: https://lead.parkhill.k12.mo.us/
Location: 7201 North Line Creek Parkway, Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone: 816-359-4130
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parkhillLEAD
Twitter: @ParkHillLEAD

• September 2: Labor Day (No School)
• September 4: Jostens Class Ring Orders Due
• September 16: Parent Advisory Meeting, 6:00 - 7:00 PM
• September 18: Parent Information Night for Families of 8th Grade Students, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
• September 25 & 26: Parent Teacher Conferences, 5:00 - 8:00

Attendance: 816-359-4131

School Phone: 816-359-4130

School Fax: 816-359-4139

Counseling: 816-359-4132

Health Room: 816-359-4134

LEAD Families:

I need to share some updates about the current status of Canvas. Before I do that, though, please know that the technical problems we have experienced have not slowed the teaching and learning processes in our building. I’ve been in classrooms each day, and it’s a true joy to see so many rich discussions and engaged students. That will always continue at LEAD.

I told you in our last newsletter that we were having growing pains with Canvas but we hoped to work through them quickly. In the spirit of full transparency, and in the interest of doing what is right for our LEAD community, I must share with you what we learned this week: unfortunately, the issues extend beyond growing pains.

When our original learning management system (LMS), Summit, transferred to Canvas, we were promised we would still have full access to a mastery-based gradebook that would allow LEAD to continue to assess our students in the same way that has proven so effective over the years. This week, after months of preparation, we were informed that our new system’s gradebook could not truly support mastery learning. The many bugs and glitches we’ve faced in the system have been problematic, but being told that the system cannot truly support the kind of learning that is the foundation of LEAD is unacceptable.

Put simply, we will not compromise our principles at LEAD, and instead of cutting corners to fit into a system that is not robust enough for our needs, our plan is to now find one that is.

We plan on moving as quickly as we can to address this situation. From your end, the biggest hurdle you will experience is the inability to check your student’s grades in Canvas.

Our goal is to have grades into our new and more effective system by the middle of first quarter, but you do not have to wait until then to check on your student’s progress. If you have a concern about progress or grades, you can always reach directly out to the teacher to see how your student is doing, and in just a couple of weeks, we will have better access available to you through our new LMS.

This is a big project to take on now that school has started, but we have an excellent staff that can handle it and your kids are worth it!

We appreciate your patience and understanding. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Sincerely,

Dr. Early

See below for details on next week's spirit week here at LEAD.

We simply can't thank you enough for all of your donations to our PBIS store. We are fully stocked at the moment, so we no longer need donations. We will open the store next week, and we have some amazing things for our students because of your generosity!

Click here for everything you need to know about Park Hill South's homecoming.

Today is the last day to order spirit wear!

Click here for the spirit wear store.

If your student has an afternoon appointment that is close to our dismissal time, please call your student out by 2:30 pm. If you call by 2:30 pm, we will have enough time to get your student out of their 4th block class before the pickup line becomes too long.

Click here to nominate a LEAD staff member for a Park Hill Star Award.

Click here for info from the land of the Trojans!

The LEAD building DEIB council will be in its second year this year. One of our goals this year is to grow. We are looking for students, parents, guardians, staff members, and community members who are passionate about the work of inclusion and belonging. If you are interested in joining this council, please reach out to Dr. Laura Hartman at hartmanl@parkhill.k12.mo.us.

For more information on the Park Hill School District's work with Accession and Inclusion, please visit this site.

Clubs are an exciting way for students to get involved at LEAD.

On club days, students must be picked up by 4:30 or they will need to ride the bus home.

If your student participates in clubs, please mark your calendar for the following club dates:

Sept. 16

Oct. 7

Oct. 21

Nov. 4

Nov. 18

Dec. 9

Jan. 13

Jan. 27

Feb. 24

March 10

April 7

April 21

See the links below for the 2024-2025 school-year calendar.

• English: School-year calendar (PDF)
• Spanish: Calendario actualizado del ano escolar (PDF)
• Arabic: تقويم العام الدراسي (PDF)
• Amharic: ዓመተ ትምህርት (PDF)
• Somali: Kalaandarka Sanad Dugsiyeedka (PDF)

LEAD does not have a PTA; instead, we have a parent advisory committee that helps shape our school community. We appreciate support on special occasions for both students and staff, such as providing meals for parent teacher conferences and pancake breakfasts for students. We will be looking to partner with our advisory committee to plan other events and activities to allow families an opportunity to be involved in the LEAD community.

Our advisory committee will meet on the following nights from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the LEAD commons or virtually, as indicated below:

9/16: LEAD

10/21: Virtual

11/18: LEAD

1/27: LEAD

2/25: Virtual

4/21: LEAD

5/19: Virtual

The A+ Scholarship Program was created as a part of the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993 as an incentive for improving Missouri’s high schools. The primary goal of the A+ Scholarship Program is to ensure that all students who graduate from Missouri high schools are well prepared to pursue advanced education and/or employment.

The A+ Scholarship Program is designed to accomplish that imperative. “The A+ Scholarship Program will mobilize an intensive partnership among high schools, community colleges, students, teachers, parents, labor, businesses, and communities to give these students the motivation, skills, and knowledge to graduate from high school. It will create an innovative and well-designed path from high school to high skill, high wage jobs.”

Students that complete A+ are eligible for 2-years tuition* at any MO vocational/technical school or community college. Many MO 4-year universities offer scholarships based on A+ criteria as well.

LEAD works closely with both home high schools to support students wishing to participate in the A+ program. You can learn more about the A+ program at your home high school: Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School.

If you have questions about A+, please contact Dr. Hartman (816-359-5875,

hartmanl@parkhill.k12.mo.us).

If any of the following courses are on your student's schedule for the upcoming school year, your student has the opportunity to earn dual credit. Dual Credit courses allow students to earn high school credit and college credit at the same time. We partner with Metropolitan Community College for our dual credit offerings. Students must meet certain requirements to qualify for the college credit and complete the Intent to Enroll form each semester if they wish to receive dual credit. MCC visited classrooms this week to help students enroll and explain dual credit requirements. See below for more information.

What courses this year at LEAD are dual credit?

College Algebra

Comp & Read

AP Psychology

Spanish III and Spanish IV

Child Growth and Development

AP Biology

AP Environmental Science (Tentative)

What are the requirements for dual credit qualification?

This varies by your student's grade level. Sophomores need a cumulative, unweighted GPA of 3.0+ and a qualifying Accuplacer or ACT score. Juniors and Seniors can use their unweighted GPA of 2.5+ to qualify. Other GPA requirements listed in the chart below.

To take the Accuplacer exam, please follow the steps below:

• Students must have an MCC ID to test.
• Go to http://www.mcckc.edu/apply and APPLY in order to get an MCC ID
• Must have a valid photo ID. Testing is offered on a walk in basis on Monday, Thursday, and Friday until 4:30 and Tuesday and Wednesday until 7pm. No appointment is needed. The entire test takes 2-3 hours to complete.
• The MATH section takes about 90 minutes to complete. Please allow the appropriate amount of time for the test.

The testing center is located at:

Learning Resources Building (room 174)

2601 NE Barry Road

Kansas City, MO 64156

Please visit the attendance page on LEAD's website for information on student absences.

If you have questions about our attendance policies or procedures, please contact Adelaide Wills (816-359-4131, willsa@parkhill.k12.mo.us).

Free and Reduced applications will be available after August 1, 2023. We encourage families to complete and submit an application for free and reduced price meals to see if you might qualify. See information about meal charges on the menus and nutrition homepage. A new application must be completed each school year. Online applications are available through the SchoolCafe portal and is the most efficient way to submit an application.

For more information, please click here.

We will frequently use social media to send out reminders about important events and to share information about the great things going on in our school. If you haven’t already done so, please like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for updates.