KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Parents and educators are celebrating the Missouri State School Board of Education's decision to restore full accreditation to the Kansas City Public School District.
The board's decision was announced Tuesday morning and Jason Roberts was listening carefully.
“I walked in with hopeful optimism that it was going to be a good result," Roberts, president of the Kansas City American Federation of Teachers, said.
However, Roberts explained his optimism declined when a board member questioned the rate of achievement KCPS has made in certain areas.
"I started to get a little nervous, and I do concede that we still have work to do," Roberts said.
There are 2,100 employees in the district, according to KCPS. Roberts said teachers deserve credit for restoring the district's accreditation.
"They’re in the classroom delivering the instruction. They’re looking at the data. They’re giving the assessments. They’re analyzing our students," Roberts said. "Even down to, they're bandaging the wounds and wiping away the tears and calling the parents.”
The union president said he's hopeful the restored accreditation will help the district become more competitive in attracting more educators.
In addition to teachers and their union celebrating the news, so are parents like Chris Evans.
“We always believed in the district, but now they have that stamp of approval," Evans said.
Restored accreditation is personal for Evans. His father, Carl Evans, served on the Kansas City School Board. He died in November, 2021.
"This was one of the things he was very, very excited about," Evans said. "It’s so awesome to see this day to fruition.”
In addition to his dad serving the district, Evans' two sons are KCPS students.
“There’s no doubt they’re getting a quality education, but it’s just one of those stamps that you just kind of need as they go forward in life, apply to college and they can always look back and say that we had everything that was needed in regards to education," Evans explained.
