ABOUT USD 308

Administration Building - USD 308

OUR MISSION
Today and tomorrow:
committed to excellence for all.

OUR VISION
Hutchinson Public Schools are committed to providing a stimulating learning community for our students, faculty and staff. We challenge our students to reach their full personal and academic potential. Excellence will be accomplished in a trusting, caring and cooperative environment.

History

Hutchinson Public Schools dates back to a one-room school that opened four years before the city of Hutchinson was incorporated. The district grew steadily with the community and benefited from Hutchinson Naval Air Station’s presence south of the community during World War II and the Korean Conflict.

At its height, Hutchinson Public Schools – formerly known as Reno County District No. 1 – had nearly 10,000 students. Several rural districts surrounded the district, each bumping up to the city’s corporate limits.

When the district was reorganized as Unified School District No. 308 on July 1, 1966, the Board decided the geography of the district should include only the then existing boundaries of Hutchinson. The decision allowed the district to maintain its neighborhood schools without any busing.

Today, the district is the third smallest K-12 district in Kansas at 14 square miles. In contrast, the next “smallest” district in Reno County is Buhler USD 313 at 137 square miles. Fairfield USD 310 is more than a quarter the size of the entire state of Rhode Island at 435.5 miles.

As the city of Hutchinson’s boundaries expanded and the natural out-migration from the city center occurred, USD 308 did not enjoy the expanded population. Consequently, the “rural” districts became “suburban.”

Today

At the end of the third quarter 2004-05, USD 308 had 4,518 students. The district offers pre-natal (the Early Head Start program) through high school services to the community. Our facilities include one early learning center, eight elementary schools, one middle school on two campuses and a single high school.

The district is ethnically and socio-economically diverse. The district’s study body is 77 percent Caucasian, 13 percent Hispanic and 6.7 percent African American. Just over 50 percent of our students qualify for free- and reduced-price meals.

Hutchinson Public Schools had five schools make the Standard of Excellence for the 2003-04 school year and expects more in 2004-05. One of our schools, Graber, reached the standard of excellence in three areas – reading, math and writing – in 2003-04. Lincoln, a school that had been “on improvement,” reached the Standard of Excellence in math with 100 percent of students reaching “proficient” or higher. Lincoln also had 100 percent of its students reach proficient or above in reading for 2003-04.

USD 308 is a pilot district for the new North Central Accreditation district accreditation process. The district will apply for the State of Kansas Quality Award at the end of this school year and will submit its case study for the Baldrige Award in two more years.

Additionally, Hutchinson is only the second school district in Kansas to embrace the Koalaty Kid program throughout the district. Sponsored by the American Society for Quality, Koalaty Kid at the elementary school level or Quality Keys at the secondary school level is much more than just a program or a project – it is not seen as a separate curriculum or an add-on – it is simply a way of doing business that takes the best of quality theory and gives teachers and their students the tools to make systemic improvements. The program helps students get more involved and self-directed in their learning. Students collect data, make decisions based on the data, work as members of a team, learn how to improve processes, set measurable goals and be accountable for their learning and their behavior.

Future

The future of USD 308 is guided by its vision statement:

Hutchinson Public Schools are committed to providing a stimulating learning environment for our students, faculty and staff. We challenge our students to reach their full personal and academic potential. Excellence will be accomplished in a trusting, caring and cooperative environment.

Based on the vision, district staff shares the following beliefs:

• all students are capable of learning;

• all students will learn, and the school district will be accountable for their learning;

• all adults in the schools shall be positive role models;

• the school district, the community and society are partners and share both the responsibility and the accountability for quality education;

• students and staff shall be lifelong learners;

• everyone has the right to be treated with respect;

• students learn best when taught by highly motivated, professional educators in a student-centered environment;

• district decisions must be based on what is best for students;

•  the future success of all our students depends on the quality of education today.

Finally, the district, through the community engagement process outlined by Baldrige and NCA, has developed the following strategic/key goals:

• Key Goal No. 1: USD 308 will recruit, deploy and maintain high performing faculty and staff that will best meet the needs of students and the school district.

• Key Goal No. 2: USD 308 students will acquire skills needed for the 21st century.

• Key Goal No. 3: USD 308 will demonstrate continuous improvement on world-class indicators.

• Key Goal No. 4: USD 308 will maintain a caring, safe, welcoming environment conducive to teaching and learning.

• Key Goal No. 5: USD 308 will maintain an educational support system that focuses resources on improving student achievement and on wise stewardship of school district resources.