PREP-KC works with district partners to advance the level of academic rigor in every school and every classroom so that all students can graduate from Kansas City’s urban districts prepared for college and careers.
One critical tool used by KCKPS and KCMSD to increase the level of academic rigor in every classroom is Common Planning Time. Common Planning Time is weekly professional development time for the teachers in each SLC. During this time, teachers meet together and review student data to assess whether students are on track to succeed on state and national assessments, whether students are on track to be successful in college course work, and whether there are gaps that need to be addressed. Teachers then work collectively, and with the assistance of local and national experts, to raise the level of academic rigor and provide supports so that all students are successfully prepared for college and careers. For example, Common Planning Time is regularly used to refine the math benchmarking work.

In order to raise the level of academic rigor in Kansas City’s urban schools and classrooms, PREP-KC supports: 

• Professional development, mentoring and continuing education to develop a pipeline of well-prepared teachers and leaders
• Subject-area intensive professional development, such as math benchmarking
• Cross-district collaboration, where teams of teachers from KCKPS and KCMSD visit each other’s schools to share best and promising practices

PREP-KC provides resources for high school mathematics and literacy coaches (18 total) in the KCMSD and KCKPS. PREP-KC also provides resources for math benchmarking and, at the request of district partners, connects districts with national experts.

In addition to these efforts, PREP-KC is working with district partners to develop collaborations with post-secondary partners and business and industry partners that align P-12 education with college and career expectations.

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