Hays High education impacted by lack of space

On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays High principal, Shawn Henderson shares the latest from USD 489.

Transcript:

EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.

 

James Bell 

Hays High continues to struggle with this space and aging facilities. Principal Shawn Henderson stops by to talk to us a little bit about that and more on this episode of the post podcast. As we've heard from some of the other principals here on the go morning show, there's a pretty big problem with space in the district. Right?

 

Shawn Henderson 

Exactly. And I think that would hold true for sure it hits high. And that's kind of the thing that we've really been talking to everybody about is space and beyond space, even just how space works in terms of how modern learners learn, and really what industry is asking us. And that's about having students that know how to collaborate, they know how to innovate and work as a team. And to do that you've got to have a place for them to, to take care of those needs, and to engage in that kind of learning, which is really important. Yeah, you know, I

 

James Bell 

think I saw a picture pretty recently from Hays high. And it was it was students working in the hallway, because there's no place else for him to work.

 

Shawn Henderson 

Yes, and that. And really, that's a very common sight for us. When you look at how schools are handling those spaces, now, there are different types of classrooms, different kinds of spaces allocated for the kind of learning that's taking place for our teachers to replicate that now. They're, they're sending them to the hallway. So it is very true. When I talk to people, there are always students lining the halls, and it's not the old school model of you're in trouble, go to the hall. Otherwise, I'd have a whole lot of people in trouble. That's not what this is. This is this is a place to give kids an opportunity to collaborate, which again, comes from industry, and that's the skills they want those kids to have.

 

James Bell 

Yeah, you know, we hear about that quite a bit too. The the desire 20 years ago was to send everybody to college or big goes to college gets a four year standard degree. But now we've we've learned that those those those hands on skills, electricians, the plumbers, the tech jobs, are what's in real high demand. And so yeah, so what you're saying is you guys are responding to what is needed out there in the world world. Right. And,

 

Shawn Henderson 

Yeah, and it is, again, it's listening to industry, and it is understanding, and I appreciate that you said that, because it's true. There's not just one path for students, you know, we talked about things at the high school level called individual plan of study, and what we're talking about is your path, you the student and what what your skills, what's your interest, we gauge those interests, we, we, you know, have curriculum for that we get them out in the community. And that's something that we are continuing to expand, we want our students to get the skills that they need, but then to go and put them to use in our community and to learn those skills partner with business. Because really, that's what's going to set them apart when they go out. And they try to join the workforce. Yeah,

 

James Bell 

no, you know, we hear quite a bit the the quality of the education isn't necessarily determined by the facilities, I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about this in specifics, how they actually do get impacted in specific ways. Like I think of my high school experience science labs, I went to an older school, I went to a school built in the 20s. And at the time, our science lab was virtually non existent. And I don't know the status of your facility. So it's just an example. But I wonder about, like, the ability to teach those skills that are needed in a facility now that is pushing, you know, 40 years old in haste highest case,

 

Shawn Henderson 

right? And you look at our teachers, and you think about the term, they're doing these things in spite of the limitations that they have. And then you look at our dynamic staff, you look at the kind of people that teach our young people in this community and you think, wow, what if they were able to have the kind of space that they need, so that those barriers are not in their way, and that you know, as someone that is the leader of that environment, it's really excited to think about making sure that they have that space and they have the tools that they need, because then they are going to be able to maximize that environment for those students and try to remove some of those barriers for them. And that's exciting I think for the educators it's exciting for the students it's exciting as a parent you know, I have students in school myself that you know, what does that look like for for them to have exactly what they need so that they can they can grow

 

James Bell 

you know, I wonder if you want to talk about a little bit maybe this how this compares Hayes high to some other districts in our league?

 

Shawn Henderson 

Yeah, I mean, I think the thing is, is that you know, the if you start to go around the the Western you know, are the wack right and so you start to look at what the other schools the Dodge City, liberal garden, great Ben, you look at it, it is it, you know, facilities, you look at the the kind of practice spaces they have the kind of learning environment they have. And, you know, the truth is, is our parents, our families, they're on the road, they're on the road a lot. And it's not even just so much about the schools in our conference, you know, families that have competitive sports and competitive even all the things that that families are doing now. They they traveled to a lot of places, they see a lot of schools and they understand the condition of the facilities, not even so much the condition but just the Um, what those opportunities are that they can see with their eyes just visiting those towns in the schools. And, and that's something that I that I think that Hayes can really consider and think about in terms of what we have here. And I think that's a question worth asking for sure.

 

James Bell 

Absolutely. You know, we've also heard a lot about missed opportunities, conferences or sports. I don't know, things. Everybody knows, I'm not much of a sports guy. But I think about, you know, all those opportunities that as a school we could have if we had the space to do so to bring people into haze. You want to speak a little bit about that, right?

 

Shawn Henderson 

Yeah, certainly. So you're talking about regional level events, you're talking about events where the the Keisha, they call and they say, Would you be willing to host that? Well, it's always an honor to host for Keisha events because it brings great, well, to be honest, it brings people to the community. And that benefits everyone. But when we don't have the facilities that can hold those events, because there are stipulations from the state, of course. And then when we're not able to do that we lose out on revenue for the community, we lose out of people coming to see what Hayes is about. And it's unfortunate. And you know, another example for us, that's the easiest to show is we just we truly do not have an auditorium, not to not to the type that that students utilize now. And it would be something that would go across, it would be all students K through 12. The community that tends to be that place in the community that so many things happen, whether it's an assembly, or it's a concert, that's a talked about spaces we simply don't have that is one that is off. For us. We just don't have that. And we lose out on a lot of things from a curriculum standpoint. And then just from an opportunity standpoint,

 

James Bell 

absolutely. You know, I was I was right before going on air I was telling you last night, as a matter of fact, I was at a or Tuesday, I guess I should say Roosevelt had their program at 12 St. auditorium. And I think there's no better visual for some of the facility concerns in the district, that Wall Street auditorium that building, it doesn't look good. And if you're, as a parent, and especially somebody coming outside of the district, if you're in that building, I think it just screams to something needs done.

 

Shawn Henderson 

Yeah. And for us, it's it's a part of the curriculum to we have students that are that are incredible performers. But it goes beyond that. It's the stagecraft, it's the people that want to be involved in quite frankly, what you do, right? I mean, those are the kinds of things that we want to provide those opportunities, that that really, we have so many kids a cross section of kids that could use that space. And, you know, whether it's a stage craft class, that's a drama class, we would not, we do not have a place for that right now, there. You know, it's not even in our building. And again, yeah, I think that's a, that's a true example of that. Yeah. And

 

James Bell 

going back, again, to kind of what we were talking about, at the onset of this, you know, those tech jobs, those jobs that we don't even that don't exist today, we don't know what they're gonna be. And that's what the students that are coming into the highest high now are going to be doing jobs that we can't even imagine. And it's going to require development and infrastructure to make the make those career potential opportunities happen.

 

Shawn Henderson 

Correct. And we want to be responsive, we do not want to provide any barriers or roadblocks for our students, because quite frankly, when they there, it's a competitive world. And they're going up against students that have, you know, similar experiences, or, and we want to make sure that we have the tools in place for them, so that they can be competitive.

 

James Bell 

And again, no knocks against any of the educators, I think that almost everybody I speak to, I think would agree that USD 49 has some of the best educators in the state of Kansas, if not beyond.

 

Shawn Henderson 

Oh, absolutely. And again, I go back to what I said at the beginning. It's, it's, it's what they're doing in spite of what's in front of them, you know, they're just some barriers for them. And then if you start to remove those barriers, and give them the kind of space allocation that they need, I really like to think about what what they can do, then then they can flourish. And I think that that's important as well.

 

James Bell 

You know, I think the other important piece of talking about facilities and maintenance in the district is the upkeep, then that's something that is heard pretty frequently. You know, why? Why didn't the district take better care of Hays high when we built it 40 years ago? You know, I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about that, you know, from a financial standpoint, the challenges that come with trying to upkeep a building that is now 40 years old.

 

Shawn Henderson 

Right, and I think it's a fair question, you know, is, Are we maintaining the buildings and, and I've heard a lot of great analogies and people that know me, you know, I use them all the time. But at my age, I'm simply not the same person I was when I was 16. Just not as not as fast and not, you know, not as quick on my feet and, and the truth is, is that It doesn't matter how hard that we upkeep something there, age is real, it's going to come into play. We have people that work tirelessly and decades of, of people that have worked really hard to provide an infrastructure and they do a great job. But the infrastructure grows in age. And when it does, it creates issues that have to be solved. And that includes dollars and cents. And I think something that that we want to make sure that we realize is, is it's not so much that the facilities haven't been taken care of. It's that time is a real factor. And, you know, that's why this conversation of when when is it time to upgrade? When is it time to build new? When is it time to change that infrastructure so that we are preparing for 50 years from now? I think that's that's the question that's in front of voters. And it's the right question to ask, and we hope people do. And we hope that if they have questions that they can ask, because, you know, that's the thing, I recently helped my daughter registered to vote, and it was the same conversation I had with her that I would have with anyone is that, you know, it's an incredible civic responsibility to be able to do this. And that's the conversation I had with my new 18 year old. And, and just like I would tell her, you know, you've got to decide you've got to be educated on this. You've got to know what what you know what your decision means. And then you you've got to vote. And that's, that's what I would tell her. And really, that's what I would tell anyone. That's my hope is that, that people know what we're talking about, ask those questions and get out and vote. Absolutely.

 

James Bell 

Yeah. And I think one of the great things that I've seen with this, with the district and the committees that are working on this bond issue is the amount of information that has been put out there is truly comprehensive, I think it's really a pretty good job. And there's a town hall, they've had some of these meetings already, but a town hall coming up to that, where you can go in if you're curious about this and learn more about the issues and ask questions directly some of the people that are in the know

 

Shawn Henderson 

Exactly. And that's going to be on April 20, Hayes Middle School in Hays High School are going to come together at six o'clock. And yeah, again, we would welcome anyone to come in and ask those questions. And because again, as we have an opportunity to share, and to take time to answer those questions, I think that's when people feel comfortable with the decision that they're making. And I think that's appropriate.

 

James Bell 

Absolutely. Well, anything else that you want to hit on or any other last thoughts before we go?

 

Shawn Henderson 

No, I mean, hey, this is a great time of year. We're hoping spring comes around. It's taken a real slow time to get to spring, but there's always some nice high activities out there. We've got the music students going to call me today for state, large group got all kinds of activities going on in the spring would love to see people out. It's good to support our students.