The Lawrence Board of Education will meet tonight at 6:00 p.m. (Wednesday, September 24) to hear from two Lawrence High School freshmen, Adelaide Boedeker and Grayson Barker, about their summer experiences in Hiratsuka, Japan, through the Sister Cities exchange program. On its consent agenda, the board will consider transitioning from BoardDocs to the Diligent Community platform, accepting a bid for Lawrence High School’s chiller replacement project, approving a solar system change order at Sunflower Elementary, purchasing the Sogolytics data platform, and renewing the district’s Employee Assistance Program. Additional items include first readings of several board policies, approval of monthly vouchers, personnel reports, and meeting minutes. New business includes action on a tentative agreement with the Lawrence Education Association covering Education Support Professionals, adoption of a bond refunding resolution, and approval of planning for two major capital projects: reopening the Centennial campus as a small high school program and expanding Langston Hughes Elementary to address enrollment growth. The board will also recess to executive session to discuss personnel matters. Review the board’s agenda at www.usd497.org/school-board. Sign up by noon today at PublicComment@usd497.org to participate in tonight’s meeting. Attend the September 24 meeting at 110 McDonald Drive or watch it at www.youtube.com/@usd497 or Midco Ch. 26. (fb)

To help out with fifth grade's unit on corn, our district's Experiential Learning Specialist and Farm 2 School Coordinator Pantaleon Florez brought some of his own farm-grown corn to Langston Hughes Elementary School. There, students were all ears as Florez spoke about his Indigenous Mexica farming practices and showed off the corn varieties he grows back at Maseualkualli Farms. Along with this colorful collection of cobs, Florez managed to bring an actual corn stalk from his field, standing at just under 11 ft. tall. #ReadySetLearn (fb)