By Mark Tallman

“We enjoy seeing the kids excel in extracurricular activities such as forensics, debate, music, and all sports, but we are emphasizing that being a great student is the first step to being a great athlete and well-rounded individual. We have students with that growth mindset. Moscow students are realizing academics and extracurricular activities go hand in hand to complement each other.” - Moscow Superintendent and Elementary Principal Valerie Thompson.

Moscow USD 209 in far southwest Kansas has just 150 students. They have made strides in raising academic achievement by increasing learning time and targeted student help, strengthening the curriculum, and personalizing attention. 

From 2017 to 2022 Moscow increased the number of students scoring at Level 2 and Level 3 on state reading and math assessments by 9.4 percent and 5.5 percent respectively. Those increases are about 10 percent better than expected based on demographics. Over that same period, Moscow increased its graduation rate by almost 29 percentage points, reaching 100 percent in 2022.

Moscow students from low-income families plus students with disabilities averaged 70.1 percent, higher than similarly-sized districts.

Moscow Elementary School earned a 2023 Challenge Award from the Kansas Department of Education. The award recognizes schools that are making a notable difference in student achievement despite challenges. I met with Moscow leaders and teachers to discuss what they are doing to make these improvements.

The district provides daycare for children ages 0-3 and preschool for 4-year-olds. The preschool program gives priority to at-risk 4-year-olds then offers remaining slots to other children. As a result, most Moscow students start kindergarten with a preschool foundation.

Moscow was an early adopter of the state’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support model. Under MTSS, schools monitor the progress of all students in the regular classroom, provide targeted help for struggling students, and intensive help for students with the greatest needs.

A grant-funded program called REAL (Reading Enrichment, Art and Learning) runs after school three days a week. All students are able to attend and those struggling in reading or math receive at least 20 minutes of pull-out tutoring during this time.

The district offers a summer program that includes a high school credit recovery program and a program open to all K-8 students that focuses on math, reading, and enrichment. Two-thirds of district students participate. A pre-kindergarten “jump start” program is also offered in the summer.

Moscow has worked to improve curriculum and instruction. Teachers are receiving training based on the State Board of Education required science of reading. The district has also adopted a new math curriculum which teachers find easier to use, provides more support, and better aligns with state standards.

District leaders say these changes were prompted in part by low state assessment results. “We looked at our scores and decided that working on curriculum mapping was a good place to start, because there were gaps,” said Industrial Arts Teacher Shawn Anderson.  “We weren't hitting the skills that the kids needed. We really focused on reading first, and now we've implemented math. We've seen improvements since doing that.”

“I think that our teachers do a really good job of tracking kids that need interventions,” said Counselor and Teacher Marcie Knoll. “That helps our graduation rate because we already know from when they're in grade school or junior high which kids may be struggling.” 

At the high school, the district adopted an academic advising period in which students are grouped by grade with a teacher for all four years. This period allows students to work on their individual plans of study, career counseling, and social-emotional learning.

The high school has added Career and Technical Education pathways in Agriculture and Health Sciences. Although its small faculty and rural isolation are challenges, Moscow has also been working to increase dual credit opportunities with area colleges and Work-Based Learning options like work study and job shadowing.

Moscow educators say they are seeing a rise in student mental health issues. “Their anxiety bubbles up,” said fourth-grade teacher Natasha Shively. “Kids in fourth grade have stress I never would have had at that age. I think that does draw them down mentally, and they focus on those issues instead of trying to be in the educational setting.”

In response, Moscow has partnered with mental health services in Liberal and Garden City to provide some in-school services. They allow students to meet online with therapists at the school to reduce travel time and costs.
“We're trying to teach some resilience and grit, perseverance,” said Thompson.

Finally, Moscow leaders stressed the role of positive relationships between students, parents, and educators in their tight-knit community to raise expectations.