Points of Pride

41 schools are recognized for receiving 141 Standard of Excellence Awards in reading, math and/or science for 2012.

Wichita Can Be Proud Of Its Public School District!

Our students and employees give the Wichita community many reasons to be proud of the Wichita Public Schools! Students and employees receive local, state and national recognition for their achievements. A few of our highlights include:

► District achievements
► Student achievements
► School achievements
► Staff achievements



We are proud to honor our employees, volunteers and school partners throughout the year with different recognition events. See Awards and Recognition.

District Achievements:

Ten students were named National Merit finalists for 2012. Seven attend East High School (above), two attend Northeast High School and one attends Northwest High School.

• More than $26.5 million in scholarships were awarded in 2012 to Wichita Public Schools high school graduates.
• Eleven students were named semi-finalists for the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program - nine from East, one from Northwest, one from South. 
• Amanda Johnson, senior at Northwest High School, received the the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarship from Wichita State University, worth $52,000.
• Kiah Duggins, senior at East High School, received Wichita State University's Clay Barton Scholarship – the largest business scholarship in Kansas.
• Zachary Goddard, student at East High School, was named a Red Cross Hero for is work with classmates with special needs.
• Irfan Ansari, student at Robinson Middle School, received first place in the 2012 Learning Quest essay contest.
• Madison Bell, student at Mayberry Cultural and Fine Arts Magnet, created the Black Dog Club to support the Kansas Humane Society and to make sure black dogs are adopted.
• Alex Wespi, Taryn Thomas and Broc Cramer, seniors at Northwest, won first place in the Public Relations Project event at the International DECA Career Development Conference for their Wonder Who's Watching internet safety campaign.
• Savana Cross and Rachael Manske, students at East High School, received the national grand prize for the Finish Line Challenge, sponsored by Finish Line and DECA.
• Saajan Bhakta, senior at Northwest High School, received the national 2012 Prudential Spirit of Community Award for his volunteer work. 
• Perry Ellis, 2012 graduate of Heights High School, was named 2012 Player of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association. Ellis was also a selected for McDonald's All-America Team.
• Heights High School won 2012 6A State Championships inboys basketball and girls basketball.
• Sydney Andrews, senior at Northwest High School, was selected for the United States World Deaf Soccer Championship Team.

• Derek Standlee, East High School, finished 11^th in the nation in the Lincoln-Douglas debate at the 2012 National Forensics League National Tournament.

• Austin Clifton, Northwest High School, was named Kansas Player of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
• Mason Ganoung, Wilbur Middle School, National Grand Prize winner in the Kids Science Challenge, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Truesdell Middle School’s Idle-Free Zone campaign was the state finalist in the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.

• Truesdell Middle School’s Idle-Free Zone campaign for cleaner air at their school was the state finalist in the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.
• Meghan Anderson, sophomore at Northwest High School, performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of the American High School Honors Performance Series.
• Robinson Middle School's orchestra performed at the prestigious Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.
• Kayla Deines, East High School, received a National Gold and Silver medal for photography and Aaron Gable, Northwest, received a National Gold Medal for photography in the National Scholastic Art Awards.
• Many high and middle school students were recognized for their artistic abilities with the Kansas 2012 Scholastic Art Awards. 
• Armaan Ahmed, seventh-grade student at Robinson Middle School, received second place for the 2011 Kansas Learning Quest essay contest.
• Nghiem Tran and Victoria Tran, students at East, earned the National Forensics League's Degree of Premier Distinction, the highest student honor.
• Hadley Middle School's National Academic League team placed fourth in the NAL National Tournament of Excellence.
• Twenty students representing East, Northwest and Southeast High Schools qualified to compete at the 2012 National Forensics League’s National Tournament.
  
  
• Robinson Middle School won second-place in the Kansas State Finance Challenge sponsored by the Kansas Council on Economic Education.
• 14 student athletes were nominated for the 2012 Wendy's High School Heisman Awards for excelling in academics, athletics and community service.
• Every student at East High School volunteered in more than 144 places in the Wichita area during the school's fourth-annual ACES in the Community event.
• Derek Standlee, senior at East High School, has received a $2,500 scholarship through the National Achievement Scholarship Program.
• Shauntel Pearson and Courtney Baker, Northeast Magnet High School; Jacob Chamberlin, South High School; and Joyce Balderas, West High School, received Gates Millennium Scholarships.
  
  
• Juan Sarmiento, North High School; and Joyce Balderas and Whitney Alcorn, West High School received Dell Scholarships.
  
  
• Rachel Kenegy, East High School, received a full-ride scholarship to West Point Military Academy.
  
  
• Alex Wespi, senior at Northwest, was named a 2012 Coca-Cola Scholar for his commitment to academic excellence and civic engagement in school and the community.
  
  
• Moheimin Khan, East; Brandon Hale, Andrew Holup and Shauntel Pearson, Northeast; and Micah Mohr, Northwest, were named Wallace Scholars by Wichita State University's College of Engineering.
• 17 seniors were named Wichita State University Dean’s Scholars in 2012.
  
  
• John Castellaw and Amber Maser, students at South High School, participated in the prestigious Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America Scholars Program at Princeton University.
  
  
• Saniya Ahmed, Brooks Technology and Arts Magnet, qualified to compete at the 2012 National History Day competition.
• LaShondra Bridges, student at Coleman Middle School, was selected to attend the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, DC.

School achievements:

An Airbus engineer watches students have fun in a flight simulator at Exploration Place.

• Brooks Technology and Arts Magnet Middle School and Airbus are involved in the Airbus Flying Challenge, that pairs students and Airbus engineers together to help students learn about aviation, science, math and engineering. 
• Stanley Elementary received a $25,000 Give with Target grant from Target. Stanley is the only school in Kansas to receive the grant.
• Hadley Middle School has received Project Lead the Way National Certification, the only middle school in Kansas to receive the honor.
• Gordon Parks Academy is authorized as International Baccalaureate World School Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes, the only school in Kansas with both distrinctions.
• The Wichita Public Schools athletic department is assisting Wichita State University in a smart phone app pilot program to help tell when it's safe to play after an athlete suffers a concussion.
• Beech, Caldwell, College Hill, Dodge, Enterprise, Franklin, Jefferson, McLean, OK, Pleasant Valley, Riverside, Stanley and Woodland received national certification with the HealthierUS School Challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
• Gardiner Elementary is the Kansas Grand Prize Winner in the Fuel Up to Play 60 Physical Activity Challenge, sponsored by the National Football League and the Midwest Dairy Council.
• North High School, Coleman Middle School and Pleasant Valley Middle School are AVID (Achievement Via Individual Determination) National Demonstration Schools, the only schools in Kansas and three of the few across the country.
• Lawrence Elementary was named a Master School by Renaissance Learning for the school’s use of the Accelerated Reader program.
• East High School’s Debate and Forensics program is one of the top 100 schools in the country according to the National Forensics League.
• Cloud Elementary received the Standard of Excellence Award for School Counseling from the Kansas Department of Education.
• Northeast Magnet was named a Successful Magnet High School by the U.S. Department of Education – one of eight nation-wide.
• Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet was recognized as a high-performing school with the National Excellence in Urban Education Award, given by San Diego University – one of 13 schools nation-wide.
• Dodge Literacy Magnet was named a Title I Distinguished School by the National Title I Association for the school’s increasing student achievement.
• Students at Caldwell, College Hill, Enterprise, Franklin, McLean, OK and Stanley Elementary Schools try different fruits and vegetables as a snack as a part of a grant from the Kansas Department of Education.
• Enterprise Elementary received the Building Bridges Award from Wichita State University for helping adults in the community earn their high school diploma.
• North High School and Bryant Core Knowledge Elementary raised the most money at for their grade levels for the Kansas Humane Society's Pennies From Heaven campaign.
• The new tennis courts at East, Heights, Northwest and South received the Missouri Valley Tennis Facility of the Year Award from the United States Tennis Association.

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Staff achievements: 

Liz Roberts, North High School, is a finalist for the 2012 Kansas Teacher of the Year Award.

• Liz Roberts, Language Arts, AVID and Future Educators teacher at North High School, is a finalist for the 2012 Kansas Teacher of the Year Award.

• Rachel Aponso, math teacher at Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet, received the profession’s top honor of National Board Certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards for 2011.
  
  
• Megan Gross, Adams; Sarah McDaniel, South; Esther Calderson, Cloud; Therese Cheatham, Anderson; Marie Hampton, Coleman; Katie Antholz-Mitchell, Southeast; and Kim Lawson, White received the 2012 Distinguished Classroom Teacher Award.
  
  
• Sarah McDaniel, science teacher at South High School, received the 2013 Kansas Horizon Award from the Kansas Department of Education for exemplary work during her first year of teaching.
  
  
• Dana Hamant, sixth-grade band director at Brooks, Mayberry and Robinson, received the National Citation Outstanding Music Educator Award by the National Federation of State High School Associations.    
  
  
• Cara Ledy, principal at South High School, was named a 2012 Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals Area 4 School Principal honoree.
  
  
• Superintendent John Allison was named a finalist for the Richard R. Green Award, the nation's top prize for urban school education leadership.
  
  
• David Clark Jr., science teacher at Wilbur Middle School, is a 2012 state finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching. 

• Cynthia Martinez, McKinney-Vento Homeless Program Liaison, received the 2012 Excellence in Public Service Award.
• Timothy Finkbeiner, principal at Greiffenstein Alternative Elementary and Wells Alternative Middle School, received the 2012 Outstanding Building Leadership Award by the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders.
  
  
• Diane Farnsworth, school psychologist at Park Elementary, received the Edna L. Harrison Pioneer Award from the Kansas Association of School Psychologists. She also was named 2011 School Psychologist of the Year.

• Andrea Piros, gifted teacher at McCollom Elementary, was given the 2011 State of Kansas Gifted Advocate and Teacher of the Year Award. 
  
  
• Susan Credille, math teacher at Northeast Magnet, received the Educating Excellence Award from Perceptive Software and the KU School of Engineering.

• Shawn Chastain, Coordinator for Fine Arts, has been named the 2012-13 Kansas Art Educators Association Administrator of the Year.

• Brenda Kuhns, science teacher at Jardine Technology Magnet, was awarded the Wendell G. Mohling Foundation Scholarship for 2011. 
  
  
• Carri Flores, P.E. teacher at Wilbur Middle School, was named Kansas’ Fuel Up to Play 60 2011 ProgramAdvisor of the Year. 
  
  
• Jonathan Maltz, science teacher at South High School, received the 2012 Albert Pike Masonic Lodge Teacher of the Year Award.
  
  
• Bill Mason, social studies teacher at the Towne West Learning Center, is one of three national finalists for the Simon Youth Foundation's Teacher of the Year Award.
  
  
• Bev Swisher, culinary arts teacher at West High School, was named Teacher of the Year by the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association.
  
  
• Susan Gray, journalism teacher at Southeast High School, received the 2012 Ad Astra Award from the Kansas Scholastic Press Association for exellence in the school's journalism program.
  
• Stan Smith, forensics coach at Southeast High School, earned the 3rd Diamond Coach Award from the National Forensics League.
  
  
• Bill Faflick, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools, received the National Open Door Award from the American Heart Association for his support of programs to educate others about heart disease.
  
  
• Five teachers and administrators – Catherine Arellano, Coleman; Susan Oldfather, Caldwell; Larry Perlman, Irving; Cindy Rabinowitz, Enterprise; and Travis Rogers, South – were recognized by the Kansas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance for their support of P.E.
  
  
• Juanita Blackmon, para at Stucky Middle School, represented Kansas for Parenting Magazine's 2012 Mom Congress in Washington, DC.
  
  
• Vicki Foss, Purchasing Manager, was named 2011 Purchasing Manager of the Year by the Kansas Association for Public Purchasing Professionals.
  
  
• Barbara Dyke, Student Records and Enrollment Services, received the Keys for Networking Award for Outstanding Service to Youth.

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