The Community Education Breakfast brought together hundreds of community members and Lawrence school district administrators, teachers and students with musical performances and award presentations. But the celebratory spirit didn’t preclude discussion of aspects district officials would like to improve.

Lawrence schools Superintendent Rick Doll shared several of the school board’s recently finalized goals with attendees, a list that focuses on three components: excellence, engagement and equity. In particular, Doll highlighted efforts to improve equity in the district, saying that a dialogue about achievement gaps between different groups of students can’t be shied away from.

KU assistant head football coach and defensive coordinator Clint Bowen talks Friday about his years attending Lawrence public schools at the 2015 Community Education Breakfast.

“One of our goals is to make sure class, race and other issues don’t impact achievement,” Doll told the attendees of the event on Friday morning at the Lawrence Holidome, 200 McDonald Drive.

The annual fundraising breakfast, hosted by the Lawrence Schools Foundation, included a keynote speaker and performances by the Lawrence High School and Free State High School bands and cheerleaders. The foundation raises money to support early childhood education and enhance teaching and learning, as well as recognize the achievements of students and teachers. The sponsors of this year’s event were Aetna, Pur-O-Zone, Sabatini Architects and Truity Credit Union.

Lawrence schools Superintendent Rick Doll shakes hands with LHS senior Amani Bledsoe Friday morning during the 2015 Community Education Breakfast at the Lawrence Holidome.

Doll outlined several of the school board’s plans to increase equity to attendees, such as adding “equity teams” at more schools; an Advancement Via Individual Determination program to prepare more students for college; and increasing advanced placement offerings to include a capstone class and dual-credit program with Kansas University.

In addition, the bond construction project that voters approved in 2013 has helped equalize facilities in the district, bringing substantial renovations and additions to the older elementary schools, such as Cordley, New York and Hillcrest, Doll said.

“We’ve transformed them into 21st-century schools,” he said.

The Free State High School band plays for more than 900 people in attendance at the 2015 Community Education Breakfast at the Lawrence Holidome Friday morning.

Doll also noted the board’s goal to develop a master plan for Lawrence High School that he said will entail a comprehensive review of what is necessary to update the approximately 60-year-old school. These efforts are about the success of kids in the district, Doll said as he introduced the students being recognized with achievement awards.

The breakfast honored four Lawrence high school seniors: Hunter Gudde and Claire Sanner of FSHS and Amani Bledsoe and Kyleigh Severa of LHS. All four are student-athletes who have excelled in one or more sports while also earning various academic honors.

More than 900 people attended the 2015 Community Education Breakfast at the Lawrence Holidome Friday morning, where signed footballs lay on some tables for donors' contributions to the Lawrence Education Foundation.

“They represent well the many talented kids at both high schools,” Doll said.

The event’s keynote speaker, KU assistant head football coach Clint Bowen, told stories from his time attending Lawrence public schools. Bowen, whose family moved to Lawrence when he was a teenager, emphasized the impact that his education in Lawrence had on his life, sharing anecdotes about each of his former teachers and coaches — Steve Grant, Lynn Harrod and Bob Lisher — whom he invited to the breakfast as guests.

“He was the energy and the spirit that made school fun,” Bowen said of Grant, adding that the first team he ever coached was Grant’s son’s basketball team. “His (coaching) advice to me was just be fair and have fun.”

Bowen, who graduated from LHS in 1990, has served on the KU football coaching staff for 17 years. Bowen also praised his high school head coach, Bill Freeman, and said his experiences with his coaches in Lawrence introduced him to the profession.

“The point of talking about those three guys is that they’ve affected my life and are why I’m here today,” said Bowen, who thanked Harrod particularly for giving him his first coaching job and encouraging him to pursue coaching as a career.

The event concluded with a performance by Kennedy pre-kindergarten students, and final remarks by Gail Vick, the Lawrence Schools Foundation board president.

“The preschoolers, (high school) seniors, musicians and cheerleaders, they’re all getting a great start in life,” Vick said. “We believe it when we say that everybody benefits from great public schools.”