FALL 2021
Welcome Back Blue Valley! #BVAlumni Bond Updates
15020 Metcalf Overland Park, Kansas 66283
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A Message
from the Superintendent As we bid summer farewell, I am always excited about the possibilities that a new school year brings. While the summer offers a chance at rejuvenation, it is the time we spend with your children that gives our work and, to a large part, our lives a sense of meaning. It will be so energizing to have students back on our campuses. Their presence infuses us all with a greater sense of purpose, community and hope for the future. Speaking of campuses, our team has been busy all summer—from beautification to facility enhancements and Bond 2020 work (pg. 6). Our team has also been engaged in professional development focused on student learning. There is much work that goes into getting ready for day one. As we return to another school year, I want to take this opportunity to stress the importance of ensuring life readiness and personal excellence for all students in Blue Valley. This focus remains central to every decision we make as it conveys our commitment to our students’ learning. In the following pages, you will have an opportunity to read more about the upcoming 2021-22 school year and how our most recent strategic plan provides the guiding principles of our work (pg. 4). Ensuring life readiness and personal excellence for our students would not be possible without our experienced and dedicated team of exemplary educators. We are also excited to welcome an extremely talented group of new teachers this year who we know
Blue Valley Schools 15020 Metcalf Ave. P.O. Box 23901 Overland Park, KS 66283-0901 (913) 239-4000 Superintendent Tonya Merrigan, Ed.D. 2 • B LU E VA L L E Y TO D AY
Board of Education Amy Tysseling, President Michele Benjamin, Vice President Jodie Dietz Patrick Hurley Tom Mitchell Stacy Obringer-Varhall Mike Seitz
will continue to sustain the high standards we have come to expect for our community of learners at Blue Valley. I am incredibly proud of ALL of our staff in our schools and confident that they will provide a warm welcome to our nearly 22,500 students on their “First Day” and each of the following days in the 2021-22 school year. Finally, while I want to emphasize the importance of providing a quality education to our students, let it not be lost that together we strive to support a balance of the academic, social and emotional well-being of every student. It takes a community. I could not be more excited about this school year and thank you all for your continued support in our purpose to serve and educate our students. While the world may have changed, our purpose has not—and together, with our amazing educators, support staff, families and most importantly our students, we’ve got this! Welcome back, Blue Valley.
Sincerely,
Tonya Merrigan, Ed.D. Superintendent
Website www.bluevalleyk12.org For more information about Blue Valley Today, contact the Communications Department 913-239-4043.
#BVAlumni
Blue Valley alumni are making their mark all over the world. Each alumnus has their own success story and we want to share these stories with the community. Follow along on social media by searching or using #BVAlumni, or by sending your success stories to bvinfo@bluevalleyk12.org. We will share our Alumni Success Stories on social media and various platforms to highlight our remarkable graduates who represent Blue Valley’s legacy in action.
If you see it, you can become it A young kid with a dream. It’s a story told by the masses, but this one is different in many ways. This story has a backstory. A young 13-year-old Asian American student at Pleasant Ridge Middle, in Blue Valley, penned a letter to the CEO at United Airlines about his love for aviation. To his surprise, he received a response from the CEO and from there his passion for aviation took flight. Fifteen years later, Blue Valley West graduate Jaspreet Singh is flying high with United Airlines and inspiring the next generation through his new children’s book with messages that no matter your ethnicity, gender or background, anything is possible. Singh published his book, Aya and Avi’s Airplane Adventure, earlier this year. The book features many characters who are underrepresented in traditional children’s books. Through his book, Singh
wanted to show kids that anything is possible and it is okay to be your authentic self.
“gave [him] the critical thinking skills,
“Growing up I never saw anyone like myself represented in children’s books and always wished I had something I could relate to,” Singh said. “If you see it, you can become it.”
Similar to the characters in his book,
In his time at Blue Valley, Singh was involved in several extracurricular activities and programs that helped him develop his own success story. He participated in business clubs like DECA, FBLA, and also enrolled in the Global Business strand through the CAPS program. The experiences gained in these programs, and his achievements within them, allowed him to be a competitive candidate for internships after high school. Singh believes that Blue Valley
Global Business program at CAPS played
knowledge, and experience necessary to set [him] up for success.”
Singh knew since he was a child that he wanted to be a part of the aviation world, even though he knew he didn’t want to be a pilot. Singh’s experience through the a pivotal role in his journey. “The program and teachers allowed me to combine my passion for aviation with the business side of the industry,” Singh said. Through his children’s book and through his own story, Singh wants to encourage young minds to dream and believe in themselves, “Always keep persevering and trying. Anything is possible!”
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WELCOME BACK
BLUE VALLEY!
Driving by Overland Trail Elementary, you will see the words “Welcome back students!” displayed on the welcome sign. Each letter was individually placed on the board with a smile from the Cougar’s new principal, Melissa Hansen, in her anticipation of the new school year.
students. A priority this year for the first day back was to reacclimate students to the buildings and reengage positive connections with staff, students and families, all of which are essential for successful learning and growth moving forward.
As the district prepares for a new school year, like Hansen, all Blue Valley staff are excited and ready to welcome back
“We know that last year took a toll on the connectedness our families and students felt [to the schools],” said Dr. Katie Collier,
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deputy superintendent. “We want to have an increased emphasis on that and focus on culture, climate and revisiting what it means to be a member of the school community.”
What you will see this year This year, healing will happen alongside rigorous academics. The four strategies in the district’s strategic plan help guide the work that is done for students. In the
following sections, those strategies are weaved into what you can expect to see this year. To view the entire strategic plan and goals for the 2021-22 school year, visit the district website at www.bluevalleyk12.org.
Your child will feel welcomed A successful welcome back to school can only happen when the emotional and mental health needs of students are also addressed. The district comprehends the great pressure and struggles students and staff have faced because of the pandemic. “We want to make sure that we are prepared to provide support for students academically, behaviorally and social emotionally,” Collier said. “This includes welcoming back many of our students who were VirtualED students, some who haven’t returned to in-person learning since March 2020.” Blue Valley has incorporated social emotional learning and interventions as part of the support system at each school level. The district has care teams of counselors, school psychologists and social workers in every school, ready to assist students and families with social and emotional needs as they transition back to a full year of in-person learning.
Your child will have exemplary educators assisting in their transformation Leading up to the start of the school year, Blue Valley educators participated in professional development to best prepare them for students. Educators are life-long learners who make an impact on students and the Blue Valley community, so providing them opportunities to grow and collaborate through professional learning communities (PLCs) with one another is an important step in ensuring greater student success. “PLCs are a concept that has existed in Blue Valley and other school districts for years,” Collier said. “The bedrock of PLCs is really the collaboration. It is ensuring that we are having regular conversations
about student learning and wellbeing, it is our professional approach to how we educate the whole child.” While we have knowledgeable and exemplary educators, above all else, we have educators that care. As students walk through the hallways of their school, they are surrounded by people who deeply care about them, who are guided by a passion for helping them to reach their potential, and who wholeheartedly believe in them.
Your child’s literacy will be a priority Literacy and reading are absolutely fundamental to children’s ability to reach important milestones throughout their educational journey. All Blue Valley students will engage in high-quality literacy instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and digital literacy ensuring they are equipped for life. Last spring, all educators participated in professional learning around the science of reading, dyslexia and structured literacy. All staff also participated in additional professional learning on these topics in August prior to the start of school. “We know this is a beneficial approach to teaching reading to all students,” said
Jennifer Luzenske, director of curriculum and instruction. “We personalized this learning to Blue Valley and included feedback from parents and students, which made it even more powerful.” This summer, the district held six different sessions for professional learning on structured literacy and the new phonics resource, which will support teaching phonological awareness and phonics utilizing structured literacy as the approach. Having previously provided universal screening in literacy for primary students (K-5), the district will now provide screening for secondary students as well (6-12). Universal screening provides educators data on students’ growth in important components of reading to help determine if they are on track for reaching grade level benchmarks. This real-time data supports timely intervention, if needed, and helps teachers as they design learning aligned to the needs of each student.
We are, and always will be, Blue Valley Above all else, families and students will see that Blue Valley is, and always will be, the district that sets the bar.
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The district broke ground on the new school, Elementary 24, in August of 2020. Check out the newest progress on the school, located in the growing southwest portion of the district, on 182nd and Long St.
The addition of flexible learning environments in elementary schools will provide more options for instructional delivery and personalized learning. Having completed these modifications at six elementary schools previously, this summer teams reconstructed Cedar Hills, Sunset Ridge, Mission Trail, Overland Trail, Morse, and Stanley elementary schools. 6 • B LU E VA L L E Y TO D AY
See how your investment in Blue Valley is coming to fruition Students heading back to school for the 2021-22 school year will notice some small and large upgrades to buildings across the district. Teams have been working all summer on projects that reinvest, reinforce and reimagine Blue Valley—all because of the community’s investment in its youth. “Immediately following the passing of the 2020 Bond, our teams got right to work designing and constructing projects throughout the district,” said Jake Slobodnik, director of facilities and operations. In January 2020, Blue Valley community members voted to pass a $186,855,000 bond issue that students and staff will benefit from for years to come.
“It has been an incredible journey, and we have already implemented nearly two thirds of the planned projects in just short of two years since the passing of the bond,” Slobodnik said. “While we still have much work to do, we know the work we put in place will have a tremendous impact on the teaching and learning in our buildings and we are excited to see all the amazing ways our students, staff and community will benefit from these upgrades.” Check out the progress being made on several projects, including the progress made on Elementary 24, and follow along on the district’s social media channels for #BvBond2020 project updates. For more information on Bond 2020 work visit www.bluevalleyk12.org/bond.
The addition of an auxiliary gym at Blue Valley North will provide more space for athletics, color guard practice, performing arts, PE, assemblies and large flexible learning experiences.
This summer, a multi-classroom addition replaced the mobile classrooms at Blue Valley High.
The new thumb-turn door locks allow staff to easily lock doors from the inside of the classroom in the event of a safety breach. The bond provides thumb-turn door locks for all schools. FA L L 2 0 2 1 • 7
News & Notes Blue Valley Southwest student named 2021 Boys ScholarAthlete of the Year
Yaseen El-Demerdash, a recent graduate of Blue Valley Southwest, already holds several distinct honors: national Paralympic records in swimming, a world championship in robotics, a Coca-Cola Scholar - awarded to only 150 students in the nation - and many more. To cap off his high school experience, he was named The Kansas City Star Boys Scholar-Athlete of the Year in June. One female and one male athlete from all high schools in the Kansas City metropolitan area are selected as winners each year. Although El-Demerdash was born with Poland’s syndrome, a rare disorder in which some bones or muscles are missing, that did not stop him from competing to the best of his abilities every day in the pool and shattering school records.
Blue Valley High students win national business awards At the 2021 virtual National Leadership Conference hosted by the Business Professionals of America (BPA), Blue Valley High’s business national team brought home 16 top-10 awards – including a national championship team. Will Creamer, Leah Dunton and Tori Hamilton brought home the national award in Presentation Management Team. BPA is the nation’s leading Career and Technical Student Organization for students pursuing careers in several business-related fields. Nearly 7,000 students across the nation participated in this competition.
Blue Valley’s National Merit Finalists win scholarships At the conclusion of the 2020-21 school year, 49 Blue Valley seniors were named National Merit finalists. Of the finalists, 24 students were awarded National Merit scholarships totaling nearly $100,000. Five Blue Valley students were named National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners. Only 2,500 students in the nation were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists. • Alec A. Liu, Blue Valley North • Naomi L. James, Blue Valley Northwest • Abihith Kothapalli, Blue Valley West • Grant H. Mao, Blue Valley North • Nikhil S. Reddy, Blue Valley High Nineteen Blue Valley students were awarded National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. These awards provide between $500 and $2000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. Blue Valley North: Charles K. Gambill, Damon J. Henderson, Lauren F. Herrington, Lucas F. Seeley, Braden M. Webb and Brian R. Garretson Blue Valley High: Carson S. Schmidt, Arul S. Sethi, Emma C. McClure and Arish Ali Blue Valley West: Rayyan Abid, Addison A. Barnes and Nicole M. Harrison Blue Valley Northwest: Genevieve E. Ansay, Sneha M. Jacob, Yuwen H. Li, Ankith R. Sheshappa, Joseph J. Valenti and Mikayla B. Rakolta
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A Community Stronger Together As each graduate crosses the stage to receive their diploma, they walk alone. However, there was a mountain of people who walked beside them on the journey to get to that spot on the stage. For Christian Scott, a recent Blue Valley Northwest graduate, and his family, that mountain of people was the Blue Valley community. “This community helped me,” said Angela Scott, Christian’s mom. “As a single mother, our family wouldn’t be where we are today without this community. I’m so grateful for those who have helped us along our journey and just wish I could give back in some way.”
The Scott family moved to the district when Christian was in elementary school, a move that took a lot of courage. “I had heard a radio ad about the Blue Valley School District and knew that this was where I wanted to raise my children,” Scott said. “It was a tough choice, but what I didn’t realize was that I’d have a community behind me ready to help.” Christian’s journey began at Indian Valley Elementary. Scott remembers Dr. Steve Heinauer, former Indian Valley Elementary principal and current Lakewood Middle principal, as a role model for them. “He made sure as the principal of that
school that we weren’t on this journey alone,” Scott said. “Even now, he still checks up on us.” Christian went on to attend Oxford Middle and then Blue Valley Northwest, where he graduated this past year. “Christian had teachers at every level that supported his IEP [Individual Educational Plan] and helped push him and even myself at times,” Scott said. Christian added, “My favorite teachers were people like Julie Paradise, Lauren Richter and Kathryn Otto.” While Christian has graduated, Scott still has two more children in Blue Valley Schools—Christina who is currently at Oxford Middle and Sloan who will be attending Oak Hill Elementary. “If I wouldn’t have stepped out, I wouldn’t have known how much better our lives could have been,” Scott said. “I always believe that the sun will shine through and this community helped the sun come back out for us.”
TELL US SOMETHING GOOD
We want to hear about the people in our community who are overcoming incredible odds, changing the world in unique ways or banding together to make a difference. Or, maybe it’s a story that just brings a smile to your face that happened at your child’s school. Our community has some amazing stories to tell and we want to hear them. Tell us something good, small or large, at bvinfo@bluevalleyk12.org so we can help spread the positive stories in our community. FA L L 2 0 2 1 • 9
Creating Extraordinary Educational Opportunities for More than 30 Years The Blue Valley Educational Foundation (BVEF) is celebrating 31 years of supporting Blue Valley schools with $6.2 million in grants, scholarships, and special programs for teachers and students. The mission is simple: enrich educational excellence for students.
proud to give every school a $2,000 building grant to spend at the discretion of their building administration – an $80,000 investment. This additional funding came at a critical time as many schools were able to use it toward making shifts in teaching.”
BVEF empowers teachers to go beyond traditional classroom limits with the generosity of community partners that support outreach, financial development, and ongoing funding of extraordinary educational programs. Teacher and building grants provide impactful programs for educators and staff to personalize their approach to teaching - maximizing outcomes for every child in the district.
BVEF was able to pivot strategies successfully, as income well exceeded budget this year. Because the support from our community continued strong, BVEF was able to announce an end of fiscal year investment of an additional $200K, spread equally to schools and district programs. These funds will help schools gear up for a new year – making an impact on our students and teachers as they Bridge to the Future.
Although this past school year proved challenging, BVEF was proud to provide continued support to ensure students had the tools they needed to be successful. BVEF Executive Director Joy Ginsburg explains, “In spite of the fundraising challenges presented by the pandemic, BVEF was
“There are so many ways to help support our mission at the Foundation, and without community support from our generous donors, these programs wouldn’t be possible,” said Ginsburg. “We have a robust calendar of community outreach events, fundraisers, and celebrations, which offer
something for everyone! BVEF offers a variety of ways to make a positive impact on Blue Valley students, teachers, and community families!” Interested in learning more about the Blue Valley Educational Foundation? Email BVEF@bluevalleyk12.org or visit the website at fundbv.org
Additional BVEF Funding this year includes: • $42,500 grant to support the district’s partnership with JCCC’s Career Technical Education program for high school students • $21,500 in scholarships to outstanding senior students of the class of 2021 • $11,000 investment in musical education • $45,000 to fund Sources of Strength, a social and emotional wellness and suicide prevention curriculum in all middle and high schools
Save the Date 31st Annual Community Breakfast Thursday, September 2, 2021, 7:00 – 9:00 am You are invited to attend virtually if you aren’t planning to attend in-person. To learn more about these events, or to RSVP, visit the BVEF website at fundbv.org. 1 0 • B LU E VA L L E Y TO D AY
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