The district's more experienced teachers, on average, earn a bit more than their counterparts elsewhere in the state. With an average of roughly 21 students per teacher, classes are smaller than they are in bigger cities such as New York or Chicago. The state has not yet completely stripped any school of its accreditation. But the district also candidly admits that it has shortcomings, and some are as serious as those in any urban district. For one, only a third or fewer of high school students are taking and passing advanced mathematics and science courses.
Teenage pregnancies are also common, local teachers' union officials say.
Kansas City's school leaders are trying to fix many of those problems. In a district that is already working to give schools more control over their own operations, the plan also grants unusual authority to teachers. The teacher teams in charge of the clusters of students at each school will be able to decide how best to deploy resources for their teams, what instructional approaches to use, and whom to hire to work with them. Within five years, all 50 schools in the district are to be full participants in the improvement plan. The program was one of the factors that led a federal judge last August to release the district from a school desegregation order that has long frustrated educators and parents alike.