photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Lawrence school board members met on Monday, March 23, 2026.

More consistent classroom materials, new diploma tracks and more are on the Lawrence school district’s to-do list for the 2026-2027 school year, school board members heard Monday in an update on the district’s efforts to improve instruction.

Cole Amaya, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, told board members the district was going to start focusing on building a more coherent and consistent learning system across all grade levels. One of those priorities is beginning to implement new “high-quality instructional materials,” also known as HQIM. This will help ensure that lessons are aligned to standards and consistent from classroom to classroom and reduce the time teachers spend creating materials.

“Without access to high-quality instructional materials, the burden often shifts to teachers to create their own materials,” Amaya said, citing data from the nonprofit New Teacher Project. “On average, teachers spend about seven hours per week developing or selecting instructional materials and reported creating 57% of their assignments.”

Board member Matt Lancaster asked whether the materials would still allow for teacher input and creativity. Amaya said they would, adding that the approach is intended to give teachers more opportunities to focus on meeting the individual instructional needs of their students.

“Teachers, I think in general, want to respond to instructional needs of students,” Amaya said, adding that they want to think through how they will execute instruction. “… They don’t want to spend countless hours going to websites to find material to make sure it’s aligned to standards.”

In addition to efforts to improve instruction and support teachers, there is also a focus on tailoring student learning experiences, including more personalized pathways to college or career goals.

The district is developing new “differentiated diploma pathways” – or differently structured graduation options that students can choose from tailored to their goals after high school. Each diploma track will have its own set of required courses and expectations, so students are completing work that directly supports their future plans rather than following the exact same academic path as everyone else.

The district is also planning some changes to its existing career and technical education pathways. The pathways focus on specific career fields like health care, construction, or IT and provide real-world learning opportunities for students interested in those fields. Amaya said the district currently has 19 CTE pathways, but that too many pathways can dilute resources and lead to low enrollment and staffing challenges.

In response, the district is planning to “pause” six of those pathways, including biotechnology, networking and telecommunications and plant sciences.

“These pathways are not actively being promoted for enrollment until we can ensure that they are viable, relevant aligned to strong post secondary opportunities,” Amaya said. ” … Most of them have been consolidated or absorbed into other pathways.”

The district is also going to start introducing middle school students to two different CTE courses, one focused on business essentials and the other focused on skilled trades.

In addition, the district plans to strengthen students’ college and career readiness through a more structured Individual Plan of Study for every student to make it more clearly mapped out from early grades into high school. This will help students align their interests, coursework and goals earlier on.

Board member Kelly Jones said the district has still been recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic for the last five years, and she’s excited that there’s been such a focus on teaching and learning.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, BOARD MEMBERS:

• Approved a construction bid from McConnell and Associates Corp. to replace the running tracks at Lawrence High and Free State High in the amount of $1,572,943 along with a 10% contingency of $157,294, for a total project cost of $1,730,237. The work includes the demolition of the existing tracks as well as the construction and installation of the new 400-meter tracks.

The tracks at Lawrence and Free State High Schools were originally constructed in 2008 and were first used in 2009, according to the agenda. ACI Bond Architects, in partnership with VSR Design – a firm specializing in sports landscape architecture – conducted investigations, surveys, and geotechnical studies on both tracks and determined they reached the end of their lifespan.

• Approved an agreement with ACI Boland Architects, in partnership with Clark Huesemann LLC and Multistudio, to assist the district in long-range planning and concept development for potential future facility improvements.

The areas of focus for the team include planning and concept development for instructional environments aligned with current and emerging teaching practices, expansion of preschool programming within elementary schools, enhancements to elementary science instructional spaces, development of appropriately sized cafeteria and dining areas, and improvements to building main entries and public spaces, the agenda said.

The district is planning to expand Langston Hughes Elementary School, and it was originally slated to be finished in August 2026. Superintendent Jeanice Swift said the timeline would be extended for staff to consider the “larger picture of what is needed for thoughtful completion of this project,” and it is now estimated to be completed in summer 2027. Monday’s agenda said Langston Hughes would serve as an initial study site for the team.

• Approved a bid from Phillips Site Work Inc. in the amount of $284,105 to perform asphalt and concrete maintenance and improvements with a total project budget of $365,921, including a 15% contingency and testing and engineering services. The concrete and maintenance projects throughout the district include Community Connections at Pinckney; Kennedy, Prairie Park, Quail Run, and Sunflower Elementary Schools; and Billy Mills and Southwest Middle Schools.