March 2010— 2010—Published OnOn-line Monthly Shawnee Mission Public Schools East Lancers 51 Years
Lancer Newsletter Shawnee Mission East High School www.smsd.org/schools/smeast
Despite Financial Woes Hitting Public Education Our Commitment to Deliver Quality Education Will Not Change Key Dates:
Message from the Principal
3/2 LATE START, 9:40am 3/2 PTA General Meeting, 11:30am 3/4 College Connection, 7-9pm 3/10 AP Registration Deadline 3/12 EARLY DISMISSAL, 1:10pm 3/15-3/19 NO SCHOOL, Spring Break 3/22 NO SCHOOL, Improvement Day 4/2-4/3 Used Book Sale 4/6 LATE START, 9:40am 4/6 PTA General Meeting, 11:30am 4/10 ACT Test Date 4/17 Earth Fair 4/19 8th Grade Athletic Orientation Night, 7pm 4/20 EARLY DISMISSAL, 1:10pm 4/21 Parent-Principal Coffee, 9am 5/4 LATE START, 9:40am 5/4 PTA General Meeting, 11:30am 5/14 Senior Day 5/17 Graduation 5/24-5/27 Final Exams
By now, most everyone is aware of the financial situation in the state of Kansas and the negative impact additional cuts in funding will have on public education. In a recent e-mail communication sent out to high school administrators from the organization United School Administrator’s Association of Kansas, the alarm was sounded on how desperate and extensive next year’s cuts in education are going to be for every school district in the State – including Shawnee Mission. The message indicated that state legislators are becoming more and more “numb” to the continuous stream of school district superintendents who parade to Topeka to speak openly about the concern. The organization indicated the time has come to mobilize the parents, community members, business leaders, and other taxpaying patrons in an effort to have their voices heard. Despite these financial woes, it important for the students and the community to know SME teachers and support staff are committed to providing the highest quality of education possible. We are committed to excellence, and we are committed to your students. We will not waiver in the job we know we must do. Sure, there is going to be a lot of anxiety and frustration along the way; nevertheless, we must persevere through these difficult times. In essence, we need to make our financial adversity our ally. We cannot point fingers of blame or hold other variables responsible. In addition, we simply cannot feel sorry for ourselves and pass that feeling on to our students or show it in our teaching. We will have to be more creative and even more innovative in how we deliver knowledge in the classroom. Our attitude will remain positive and focused. As much as I speak to our commitment to educational quality, you should know others will respond to this commitment, productivity of staff, and the achievement of students with the following question: “If educators can do more with less, then why are we funding education at previously higher levels of support?” This kind of attitude by legislators or the general public could be more devastating in the future than this original impact is having right now. If this occurs, the quality of education will erode across the State