Junction City Schools: Changing the academic culture
The Junction City School District (JCSD) prides itself on being a community-based school. The district encompasses more than 200 square miles and acts as a unifying force not only for the town of Junction City but also for outlying communities like Three Creeks, Wesson, Faircrest, Caledonia, Scotland, Dodge City and other small communities in south Union County.
The school district is resolved to provide not only a great academic atmosphere for our students but also maintain the very best extracurricular activities. The School Board, the administration and the faculty are committed to making our school district a place where “All Students are Important.”
JCSD certainly doesn’t claim perfection, but we do make up for our shortfalls with compassion, dedication and fairness — all attributes that are impossible to quantify. Typical Junction City students are from hardworking families who teach their children values like respect, honesty and trustworthiness. Our school believes in the importance of connecting with the entire community to produce well-rounded graduates. As a central belief, JCSD must play a critical role in unifying a diverse community.
JCSD has set two long term goals: to have “A” rated schools, and to reach out to parents and get them actively involved in their children’s education. Both goals go hand-in-hand.
Increased student achievement is directly correlated to high levels of parental engagement. Parents who take an active role in the educational process are much more likely to have high achieving children.
Parents can involve themselves in a number of ways. Junction City Elementary has an active parent-teacher organization. We readily accept volunteers. Parents’ attendance to parent-teacher conferences allows them an opportunity to visit teachers and learn about program specifics as well as student progress. We encourage parents who have concerns to contact teachers and administrators to schedule one-to-one conferences. Every staff member’s email is posted on the school website in the Contact Us section. Parents are always welcomed at our school.
Junction City, like most schools, has a variety of grade level school improvement programs. Students, whether excelling or struggling, are afforded ample academic enrichment opportunities.
From Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Gifted and Talented programs K-12 to AP and concurrent credit classes, we believe in offering students as many opportunities as possible. From kindergarten through 12th grade, JCSD has extensive programs in the arts.
Currently, we are constructing a $1.7 million arts and activities building on the high school campus. With the completion of this stateof-the-art facility, we will vastly improve our ability to offer all students exemplary programs in the arts regardless of grade.
With an evolving world, JCSD has made a huge investment in technology and continues to look for more ways to integrate technology and coding into mainstream classes. We now have a one-toone device ratio. In every content area, teachers have sets of Chrome Books or desktops. As STEM becomes an instructional standard, we are actively incorporating STEM practices across the curriculum. STEM and in some areas STEAM (STEM with an art component) are the norm rather than the exception. As technology changes and improves, JCSD is determined to change and improve.
Parent involvement is the key to success. Every day we, as a staff, strive to make contact with parents, make ourselves available for conferences and schedule parental involvement activities throughout the year so that parents have plenty of opportunities to discuss issues with staff members.
One of our most popular opportunities for parent engagement is through unrivaled athletic programs. The Dragons have countless championship trophies in a multitude of sports. The community as a whole supports these programs. From ensuring players make off-season workouts to encouraging their children during competition to actively participating in fundraising efforts and through volunteering their time, parental involvement for athletics could not be greater.
It is the goal of JCSD to have parents expend this same passion in their children’s academic success.