CONNECTIONwww.parkhill.k12.mo.us

SUMMER EDITION

Building Successful Futures • Each Student • Every Day

REOPENING OUR DOORS

Teachers were excited to welcome Gerner students back to the building.

Gerner Family Early Education Center pre-K student Kenzie Archer learns about sharks as Mrs. Amber Goin reads her a story. Staff members are doing their part to keep Gerner children healthy by wearing masks. Teachers are working to normalize the new health guidelines for the children.

Opening Gerner is the first step in our latest reopening plan. Our reopening plan will adapt to changing state, local and health official guidelines.

2020-2021 CALENDAR CHANGE The Park Hill Board of Education recently voted to change the calendar for the upcoming school year.

The updated calendar includes a plan to use up to five days of distance learning for snow days or other closures. Alternative methods of instruction (AMI) days would reduce the amount of days made up at the end of the year.

In addition to AMI days, the calendar includes early release dates for middle school.

BUDGET CHANGES This unprecedented time has undoubtedly created varying levels of uncertainty. Recently, Governor Mike Parson announced a significant reduction in funding for public school districts. As new information becomes available, our Board of Education and administrators have been working to accommodate the revenue shortfalls, to ensure we use the available funds efficiently.

Since information changes frequently, the district will integrate the best and most current information we have into a budget for this

coming fiscal year. Ultimately, the Board will pass a budget by June 30 that goes into effect July 1.

STARLIGHT THEATRE AWARDSPark Hill and Park Hill South high schools received nominations for Starlight Theatre’s Blue Star awards. Park Hill South earned a nomination for outstanding orchestra. Park Hill received nominations for outstanding costume design and construction, outstanding scenic design and construction, outstanding actress in a featured role and outstanding actor in a lead role.

SKILLSUSA HONORSFifteen students from Park Hill and Park Hill South placed in the regional SkillsUSA competition. John Tovar from Park Hill South qualified to present at the state competition.

JOURNALISM TEACHER OF THE YEARBroadcast journalism teacher Justin Ford earned the 2020 Journalism Teacher of the Year award from the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association

KC CAPPIES THEATRE NOMINATIONSNine students from Park Hill High School and the LEAD Innovation Studio received nominations from the Kansas City Cappies.

SPEECH AND DEBATE AWARDS

Twelve students from Park Hill and Park Hill South high schools earned honors in the Heart of American District debate tournament, qualifying them for the National Speech and Debate Association tournament. The PHHS team received the leading Chapter award and Kyle Howe earned the Assistant Coach of the Year award.

DUKE TALENT IDENTIFICATION PROGRAMThe Duke University Talent Identification Program recognized 14 middle school students from the Park Hill School District for academic excellence. Sidney McNeal from Lakeview Middle School earned Grand Recognition honors.

KC JOURNALISM HONORS

Journalism students from Park Hill and Park Hill South high schools earned honors at the virtual awards ceremony for the Journalism Educators of Metropolitan Kansas City competition.

MISSOURI SCHOLARS 100Four students from Park Hill and Park Hill South high schools earned recognition in the Missouri Scholars 100, which honors 100 of Missouri’s top academic students in the class of 2020. Elizabeth Appel and Wasila Sun from PHHS earned top recognition, and Ethan Mick and Raj Thaker from Park Hill South both earned an honorable mention.

STATE AND NATIONAL PTA REFLECTIONS Twenty-three students earned recognition for their participation in the Missouri PTA Reflections contest, with four of the students winning their category to advance to the National PTA Reflections competition. Makenna Miller from Union Chapel Elementary went on to receive the Outstanding Interpretation Award from the National PTA.

HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE RECOGNITION

Eleven Park Hill South High School students placed in the Missouri Health Occupations Students of America 2020 Virtual State Leadership Conference competition and four students qualified for the international competition.

Dear Park Hill Family, Though this school year ended differently than any of us could have anticipated, I’m proud of the resilience of our students, staff and families. I’m proud of the way our community came together to make learning possible during this time. I’m proud of our teachers who found creative ways to make a less-than-ideal situation productive and meaningful for our students. Thank you, teachers, staff, students and families, for persevering.

As you can see on the front page, our Gerner Family Early Education Center opened to students on June 1. We are excited to have students back in our buildings. Our staff has taken many precautions to ensure the safety of

our students as much as possible. We will continue to adapt our plans and update our families as we receive more information and guidelines from local health officials.

On behalf of our staff, thank you for supporting our students and teachers during this unprecedented time. Sincerely, Jeanette CowherdSuperintendent

STRAIGHT FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

DR. JEANETTE COWHERDPark Hill Superintendent

DISTRICT SUCCESS STORIES

NEWS TO KNOW

Building Successful Futures • Each Student • Every Day

Visit our website atwww.parkhill.k12.mo.us for more information on these and other success stories.

7703 NW Barry RoadKansas City, MO 64153

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In an effort to keep the community informed, the “Park Hill Connection” goes to every home inthe Park Hill School District, even those without students in our schools. Thank you for your support

of your community’s schools!

CALENDAR:

GraduationsPark Hill High SchoolJuly 26, 5-7 p.m.Municipal Auditorium

Park Hill South High SchoolJuly 26, 1-3 p.m.Municipal Auditorium

Kindergarten KickoffAugust 4Contact school for time

GETCONNECTED:Our website has lots of ways for you to engage with Park Hill Schools. Find them all atwww.parkhill.k12.mo.us.

Social MediaFollow the district’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

First Hand E-mail NewsGet district news and highlights from Board meetings.

First Hand MobileGet text message alerts about weather and emergencies.

Smartphone AppDownload the district’s app through Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

Park Hill TVSee our videos on Spectrum Cable channel 18 and Google Fiber TV channel 140.

Park Hill ListensShare your comments, suggestions for improvement and even your compliments.

Building Successful Futures • Each Student • Every Day

POSTAL CUSTOMER

Families across Park Hill participated in this year’s virtual Sophie’s Run at Lake Waukomis, including Chris Kennaley, and his children Killian Kennaley from Line Creek Elementary, Krissy Kennaley from Hawthorn Elementary, and Cael Kennaley. Sophie’s Run raises money for Park Hill’s assistive technology library to help students like Killian, pictured with his assistive technology device, who need help communicating.