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Cummings challenges district to ‘stay ahead of the curve’
By Ray Weikal
Eight months away from retirement, North Kansas City Schools Superintendent Tom Cummings has
delivered his final state of the district assessment.
Several hundred community members were on hand to hear Cummings speak during the 2008 North
Kansas City Schools Education Foundation annual breakfast Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Harrah’s Hotel in North Kansas City.
The “changing face of education” means more challenges and opportunities for public schools, Cummings told the those assembled in the hotel ballroom.
North Kansas City Schools is no different, Cummings said. Demographic shifts, tightening budgets and an impending handover of leadership to Deputy
Superintendent Todd White mean the school district has real work in store for it over the next several years.
“This is a particularly important year for us because it’s a year of
transition,” Cummings said. “The Board of Education has acted very wisely because they have a succession plan in place.”
Immigration continues to have a major impact on North Kansas City Schools, according to Cummings. Approximately 5.5 percent of the 18,000 students enrolled this school year are enrolled in English language learner classes, which require
special certifications, curriculum and materials.
“It’s no surprise that there is a very important shift in the demographics of our district,” Cummings said. “That presents us with many challenges, but it also enriches our culture”
A shrinking local tax base due to the economic
downturn will mean ongoing stress for the district’s budgets, Cummings indicated. The Board of Education and financial officials,
however, are good fiscal stewards of taxpayer money, he said, and a recent audit gave the district top marks for its bookkeeping.
Cummings also celebrated several academic
achievements made by the district, including a 17 percent increase in the number of minority students taking the ACT exam and a Distinction in Performance honor from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
On the downside,
however, national No Child Left Behind performance standards have proved
troubling for North Kansas City Schools and most of its public school neighbors in the Northland, Cummings said. He suggested that the federal law needs reform.
“We are making progress, but at the same time, I think the benchmarks continue to be unrealistic,” Cummings said.
Education Foundation Chairman Jeffrey
Luerding announced the start of a new scholarship fund in Cummings’ name, created for children of district staff members and to help fund stringed instrument music programs. Cummings was also given the foundation’s individual Cornerstone Award.
“We are very fortunate to have had him for 23 years,” Luerding said.
Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.
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delivered his final state of the district assessment.
Several hundred community members were on hand to hear Cummings speak during the 2008 North
Kansas City Schools Education Foundation annual breakfast Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Harrah’s Hotel in North Kansas City.
The “changing face of education” means more challenges and opportunities for public schools, Cummings told the those assembled in the hotel ballroom.
North Kansas City Schools is no different, Cummings said. Demographic shifts, tightening budgets and an impending handover of leadership to Deputy
Superintendent Todd White mean the school district has real work in store for it over the next several years.
“This is a particularly important year for us because it’s a year of
transition,” Cummings said. “The Board of Education has acted very wisely because they have a succession plan in place.”
Immigration continues to have a major impact on North Kansas City Schools, according to Cummings. Approximately 5.5 percent of the 18,000 students enrolled this school year are enrolled in English language learner classes, which require
special certifications, curriculum and materials.
“It’s no surprise that there is a very important shift in the demographics of our district,” Cummings said. “That presents us with many challenges, but it also enriches our culture”
A shrinking local tax base due to the economic
downturn will mean ongoing stress for the district’s budgets, Cummings indicated. The Board of Education and financial officials,
however, are good fiscal stewards of taxpayer money, he said, and a recent audit gave the district top marks for its bookkeeping.
Cummings also celebrated several academic
achievements made by the district, including a 17 percent increase in the number of minority students taking the ACT exam and a Distinction in Performance honor from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
On the downside,
however, national No Child Left Behind performance standards have proved
troubling for North Kansas City Schools and most of its public school neighbors in the Northland, Cummings said. He suggested that the federal law needs reform.
“We are making progress, but at the same time, I think the benchmarks continue to be unrealistic,” Cummings said.
Education Foundation Chairman Jeffrey
Luerding announced the start of a new scholarship fund in Cummings’ name, created for children of district staff members and to help fund stringed instrument music programs. Cummings was also given the foundation’s individual Cornerstone Award.
“We are very fortunate to have had him for 23 years,” Luerding said.
Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.