By Mark Tallman

“Our staff is really great, just very caring. They want to see the success of students. The big key for us is really just being able to work together and to do that over a long period of time.” - Wallace County Superintendent Christy Hammer.

With just over 200 students, Wallace County USD 241 is still the “big” district in the county located on the Colorado border. It also achieved some of the highest student results for districts with fewer than 500 students and continues to seek improvement.

Wallace County had a 100 percent graduation rate in 2022 and its postsecondary success rate, which tracks recent graduates, averaged 69 percent for 2015 to 2020, one of the highest in the state.

Those results are supported by a strong academic foundation. On the 2022 state reading and math tests, 87.3 percent of district students scored at Level 2 or higher and nearly 50 percent at Level 3 or higher. These results are about 15 percent higher than expected based on Wallace County’s size and student characteristics. Their students from low-income families plus students with disabilities averaged 55.4 percent, about 12 percent below state average.

I met with Superintendent Hammer to discuss how Wallace County is working to improve results. She just completed her second year as superintendent after serving 23 years as a high school science teacher and two years as secondary principal.

“I would say the main reason (for our results is) that we are small enough to individualize what we do with students, and we have staff that have worked together long enough” she said. “They really dig in to see what needs to be done to improve.” 

Hammer described how the district has been working to improve curriculum, instruction, and intervention for students needing more help in reaching high standards. Several years ago the district brought in the Kansas Technical Assistance System Network, a resource provided by the Kansas State Department of Education.  “Our district Leadership Team met with them to set some goals, really evaluated where we were and where we needed to be,” Hammer said.  They helped the district work through some staff transitions and with their English Language Arts instruction. “TASN helped us bring in a new curriculum based on the science of reading and making sure our curriculum and our standards are in alignment.”

TASN also helped the district implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) model. MTSS is designed to help schools provide high quality general classroom instruction, identify and provide additional support for students who are having difficulty, and provide intensive help to the highest need students.

Without its own preschool the district has relied on a strong Head Start program for kindergarten readiness. Head Start is an income-based, federally funded program with limited spots available. Hammer says the district is considering starting its own preschool to complement Head Start. “We are just seeing more needs among our students, more high-risk students,” she said. “The demand is increasing.”

To address increasing needs, the district has expanded counseling staff. They provide character development that is showing results. They are focusing on the Kansas Can competencies which include a set of beneficial skills promoted by the State Board of Education based on broad input from parents, educators, employers, and community members.

Hammer said Wallace County’s high postsecondary success rate could be credited to strong college and career planning. “Our counselor now and those we have had in the past have been great at asking students what they want to do after high school,” They can then guide students toward classes they will need and even help them arrange college visits. “We also do some work-based learning,” Hammer said. “We get kids out doing things to see what a job is really like.”

Wallace County emphasizes working with students who want options other than a four-year college degree. “We are seeing a trend of students that maybe aren't thinking about traditional college,” said Hammer. “Because of that, we've added (Career Technical Education) pathways. Probably our most popular pathway right now is in manufacturing.”

Hammer praised the district’s partnership with Northwest Kansas Technical College, which allows students to begin technical programs in high school through concurrent enrollment and finish the programs at the technical college. Under the manufacturing pathway, students can also go to a more condensed welding program in Missouri.

The district has construction and healthcare pathways that benefit from teachers who have real-world experience in those fields. The district is also looking at starting education and graphic design pathways.
Wallace County partners with Colby Community College to provide concurrent academic college classes, both in person and online.

Overall, Hammer says much of the district’s success comes from a staff that can offer both caring and consistency. “For the most part, I think it is our staff that makes the difference. We've been able to retain teachers. That is huge as far as being able to keep things consistent, and being able to look at data comparatively, to know and see what the trends are doing.”