MARCH 2005

This is the monthly electronic newsletter of the Kansas Association of Religious and Independent Schools (KAIRS). KAIRS TODAY is sent as a service to KAIRS members across Kansas.

Our goal is to keep you informed about legislative, regulatory and national news, and educational issues. Please look for this on the 20th of each month. Contact Corey Reese, editor, with questions or concerns -
c-reese@rocketmail.com.

We pray for a blessed Easter and relaxing Spring Break for all KAIRS members and their families.

MARCH ISSUE:

1.APRIL MEETING – KAIRS PUBLIC POLICY REVIEW
2.KAIRS MEMBER PROFILE: Holy Family Elementary Thrives in Hays
3. KAIRS 2004-05 OFFICERS
4. IMPORTANT DATES


APRIL MEETING – KAIRS PUBLIC POLICY REVIEW

The April 12 meeting in Topeka will focus on public policy and making necessary revisions to the KAIRS public policy agenda. This area of KAIRS was the original driving force for the creation of our organization. KAIRS has been instrumental in important recent changes including teacher licensure, and the organization is committed to staying at the forefront of important issues affecting its membership.

As this impacts all our member schools, we would invite all to attend – and please bring ideas for this working session. Bob Voboril, KAIRS Public Policy Coordinator, will lead the discussion.

From Bob: We would ask all members for their input on the question of KAIRS position toward vouchers/tax credits/scholarship credits etc. The KAIRS Public Policy statement is up for review at the April meeting and these issues will be discussed.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, April 12, 10 am – 2 pm at the Missouri-Synod Lutheran building in Topeka. Please make lunch reservations by Thursday, April 7 with KAIRS Secretary, Bill Dieckhoff, at billdieckhoff@holycrosslutheran.net.


KAIRS MEMBER PROFILE: Holy Family Elementary Thrives in Hays

Holy Family Elementary School’s story goes back almost 100 years to 1908 when a beautiful stone building in Hays first housed this Catholic elementary school. Over the years, it outgrew its original facility and expanded its outreach to what now includes a united parish of three local churches and several outlying towns.

“We are a unique Catholic school in that we have students and support from more than one parish,” explains second-year Holy Family principal, Melanie Moeder. “Because we are part of the Heartland parishes, we have students from not only Hays but also from several surrounding small towns.”

Holy Family is connected to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, but is also supported by St. Nick’s and St. Joseph parishes in Hays and churches from Catherine, Munjor, Antino, Schoenchen and the Catholic Campus Center located on Fort Hays State campus.

Holy Family is a school of 309 students in preschool through sixth grade. By school policy, each classroom has no more than 20 students. Next year, the school will expand to include a third Kindergarten class. This new addition will fill the school to capacity.

The school consistently posts excellent standardized testing scores and the attention to small class size may partially explain these high marks. Holy Family students in third and sixth grade ranked in the 80th and 90th percentile on all subjects in 2002 on the Iowa Basic Skills test.

Mrs. Moeder says that in addition to small classes, using excellent curriculums is also a priority at Holy Family, “We use the Shurley English and Saxon math curriculums and they have proven to be outstanding for our school. Our students go to the Hays public school for seventh and eighth grade before attending our Catholic high school – Thomas Moore Prep – and the teachers at the junior high tell us that they can see a big difference in our students – especially in English.”

Holy Family’s students come from a variety of family backgrounds, covering the spectrum from farmers and local businessmen to lawyers and medical professionals. The families are very involved in the school’s volunteer organizations, which provides added strength to the school.

“Our school is a strong faith-based program, functioning in a very family-oriented environment,” Mrs. Moeder says. “We have to work hard because we have several outstanding public schools that are comparable. But we have the opportunity to talk about God all day, and we hear from the special services educators who travel throughout our area that when they come here they feel very comfortable.”

One of Mrs. Moeder's personal interests has involved leading her teachers through the process of aligning and mapping the entire school's curriculum. She explains that an on-line program, curriculummapper.com, has greatly aided her faculty in this process. "Each month, our teachers have a half a day to enter their objectives and mastery of every subject. This system has allowed us to accomplish this much easier, and also to be aligned to the state's standards.

“In my former school in Oakley, we did the same thing, but we used large white pieces of paper and wrote all over them. This is much easier!” she says.



IMPORTANT DATES

April 5: KAIRS Executive Committee Meeting, The Independent School, 9 a.m.
April 12: General Membership Meeting, Topeka, 10 am
Sept. 13: General Membership Meeting, Salina, 10 am
Nov. 8: General Membership Meeting, Topeka, 10 am
 

 KAIRS 2004-05 OFFICERS

President: Karen Norton, The Independent School, Wichita
karen_norton7531@hotmail.com

Vice President: Nick Compagnone, Salina Catholic Diocese
nickcom@aol.com

Secretary: Bill Dieckhoff, Holy Cross Lutheran School, Wichita
billdieckhoff@holycrosslutheran.net

Treasurer: David Swank, Trinity Academy, Wichita
swankd@trinityacademy.or

Annual Meeting Secretary: Judy Pitts, Bethel Life School, Wichita
judypitts@earthlink.net

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