Art Gutierrez has been pondering a question as he prepares to wrap up his three-year term on the KASB Executive Committee. “As school leaders, we often talk about ways to help disadvantaged kids. But I wonder how many of our members or leaders fell into the category themselves?” 

A lifelong resident of Emporia, Art’s life story was similar to many Kansas students. He grew up in low-income, working-class households, experiencing divorce, remarriage, and changing schools. Although his family has been in Emporia for generations, having immigrated from Mexico to work on the railroad, his community still sometimes felt isolated and given lower expectations. 

Art had struggles in school and was unsure of his interests after graduation. He worked a few jobs and didn’t go directly to college. With the help of teachers along with family and community support, Art still found the American dream was possible. He enrolled at Emporia State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems and a master’s degree in Library Science.

Nine years ago, he was elected to the Emporia USD 253 board of education. Art believes that a school board should reflect the community as much as possible. He wanted to support his two daughters as well as all kids. “I had been working at the university for several years and so I felt I also had experience at the next level,” he said. 

Six years ago, he joined the KASB Board of Directors, representing the east central Region Two. Three years ago, he was elected KASB President-elect, the first Hispanic or Latino school board member to serve in that role. In all these positions, Art says he has worked to meet the changing needs of Kansas students.

Emporia, a town of 25,000, is best known as the home of the state’s first teachers’ college, now Emporia State University, and newspaper editor William Allen White. Driven by demographic and workforce changes, White students now make up fewer than 50 percent of the Emporia schools’ enrollment. The Latino community has grown and diversified, with more countries represented. Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority group at 47 percent. That percentage is about double the share of the adult population due to the Hispanic population trending younger. Nearly a fourth of students are English Language Learners, reflecting the number of new arrivals. Almost 60 percent of the district’s students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Finally, 19 percent of Emporia’s students qualify for special education services.

Each of those groups faces more difficulties in education because of factors largely outside of the schools’ control. “Kids seem to have more needs now,” Art said. “Our teachers and staff are not social workers, so we have had to hire additional staff to try and address those needs” He said they need to try to develop a more diverse staff.  He added that progress toward that goal is hard. “We have to grow our own.”

Having spent part of his education years in mobile classrooms, Art is proud of efforts to improve facilities through a bond. “Updated facilities will ensure we have infrastructure in place that will provide attractive and effective learning environments for our students.”

Art also talked about raising expectations. “I kind of felt like when I was in school, I was never pushed,” he said. “My focus now is increasing student achievement. It is going to take time to see the results we all want. We also need help from parents and family members at home to encourage students to work hard and prioritize school. We have great students, teachers and staff and the more support we have, the greater our results.”

He praised the Emporia community for its support and suggested reaching out to business will help increase support for education statewide. “I think there's support there, but we have to show accountability. A lot of the focus on soft skills and social emotional learning came from business. We need to show people how schools are addressing that to get buy-in and support.”
Art encourages school board members to use KASB resources. “There is so much to learn as a board member, you need all the help you can get and KASB provides learning opportunities.

KASB has a great staff who you can learn from, but you also meet other board members from across the state so you can hear firsthand about their challenges and successes. I would encourage any board member in Kansas to sign up for Leadership for Tomorrow.”

“As I reflect on my service on the KASB Board, the many opportunities to meet with school board members across not only Kansas but from across the country is something I will always remember,” he said. “I will take a lot of friendships from my time on the board. It gives me a lot of comfort about the future of public education when I think of the amazing people I have met that are all serving to support students and public education across the country.”