By Mark Tallman

Osage City USD 420, located 40 miles south of Topeka, had a 15.7 percent increase in its graduation rate from 2017 to 2022. The increase was the largest of any Kansas district in its enrollment category (500-1,600 students). The 2022 graduation rate of 95.7 percent was nearly five points higher than expected, based on demographics. 

Osage City has just under 700 students with those from low-income families combined with students with disabilities totaling 68 percent. In addition to high graduation rates, the district also scored about 7 percent higher than expected on state reading and math assessments for 2022. I met with district leaders to find out what Osage City is doing to get those results.

Superintendent Ted Hessong who just finished his second year, called the district a “community of caring.” Surveys show that teachers feel very supported.  “That’s a reflection on the principals here around this table, and those that came before,” said Hessong. “The second component is the number of teachers and administrators from Osage City. They were supported when they went to school here, and they provide that support for students now.”

Osage City Elementary School Principal Dena Paul talked with her staff about the district’s high results. “One of the things they said is that we're very good at building strong relationships with our families and our students,” she said. “Part of that is because we are such a small community, but I think a lot of times it's because we've been homegrown. The students that I have now are grandkids of students that I went to school with here.” 

Concerning graduation rates, Osage City High School Principal Natosha Jenkins said, “I think that's just having conversations and showing kids that we care about them, and we want them to succeed. We try to just continue to encourage them about doing well and graduating. Our students are constantly getting support.” 

Most of the strategies identified by Osage City leaders aligned with the outcomes and recommended strategies of the State Board of Education’s Kansans Can. Osage City Middle School Principal Tim Riemann said, “Rather than trying to start over, we just kind of tweak things every year, always constantly looking at what we can do better.”

Osage City has expanded early childhood from one four-year-old preschool class to three classes for three-year-olds and three classes for four-year-olds. The efforts have been assisted by grant funds. The district also provides transportation from local day care providers to the preschool.

It is estimated that nearly 80 percent of Osage City kindergarteners have had preschool. Paul says the expansion has been particularly helpful in the early identification of the growing number of students with special educational needs, particularly language issues.

District leaders say they have implemented a strong Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) program. 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.

Interventions in the elementary grades have reduced the need at the middle school. At the high school, the schedule has been structured so time is available for MTSS assistance, if needed. The major MTSS emphasis in the district has been in reading. Leaders say test scores have been helped by using an approach to reading that is consistent with the State Board of Education’s directives on Structured Literacy and the Science of Reading. Osage City has also been participating in the state’s LETRS training.  

Student Intervention Teams (SIT) are used at all levels. Teams bring together teachers and other staff to discuss the needs of individual students, including academic, behavioral, and social-emotional issues. To address those broader needs, Osage City has increased its counseling staff. They also partner with a number of outside organizations to provide on-site services and assist with foster care and other family issues. A school resource officer serves as a liaison with local law enforcement.

“We have dual credit offerings with Allen Community College so we have kids that can take college classes. We also partner with Washburn Technical College and with Flint Hills Technical College,” said Jenkins. The district is working to grow work-based learning. “We allow our kids to have a work-based job experience,” said Jenkins.  “We also give our high school kids three “job shadow” days, that pair with their individual plan of study.”

Hessong said the district’s configuration of buildings, where grades PreK-12 are all on the same site, helps build that “community of caring.” “We all basically under one roof,” he said. “That really helps build a family. The elementary kids see those high school kids and it's just a learned behavior by seeing those older kids. It also helps with connections that we can make between the staff because we're right there together. I really do believe the configuration that we have makes a difference.”