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Free State High School troupe selected to perform at Wichita festival; local performance to send them off
Free State High School theatre students will take “The Addams Family: School Edition” on the road after being selected as one of five schools statewide to participate in the Kansas Thespian Festival.
MORE USD 497 & K-12 EDUCATION NEWS
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Newcomers win Lawrence City Commission race; incumbents hold 2 school board seats
Newcomers Mike Courtney and Kristine Polian won the race for Lawrence City Commission, and incumbents Shannon Kimball and Kelly Jones held strong to their Lawrence school board seats Tuesday night. The third school board seat was too close to call.
Lawrence school district welcomes food donations at schools
The Lawrence school district has launched a food drive to help meet its students’ immediate needs.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Lawrence schools no longer using Gaggle, but a new tool has taken its place
The Lawrence school district has replaced Gaggle with a seemingly similar AI surveillance tool, according to Superintendent Jeanice Swift, though that change was not mentioned in documents in a lawsuit related to the software.
Mac Moore/LawrenceSports.com
Lawrence high school gymnasts compete in emotional final meet; Sunflower League ends program
The combined Lawrence high school girls gymnastics program ceases to exist following the team’s final bow on the mat over the weekend.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Lawrence schools have ceased using Gaggle AI monitoring software, court documents say
The Lawrence school district has stopped use of Gaggle, an AI monitoring software that sparked a federal civil rights lawsuit by current and former students, according to court documents.
Lawrence school board approves priorities for Kansas Legislature
Academic freedom, local control and fully-funded special education are among the main values the Lawrence school district will ask the Kansas Legislature to honor this year.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Lawrence school board member resigns
First-term Lawrence school board member Anne Costello has resigned from the board effective immediately.
Lawrence school board to consider approving district priorities for Kansas Legislature
The Lawrence school board on Monday will consider approving a list of several requests the district will ask the Kansas Legislature to honor this year, including fully funding special education, protecting local control and more.
Lawrence school board hires architects for Centennial campus; Langston Hughes expansion postponed
The Lawrence school board on Monday approved hiring an architectural firm to design a nontraditional high school program at the Centennial building. The expansion of Langston Hughes Elementary will be postponed a year.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Lawrence school board to consider hiring architects for Centennial Choice Campus
The Lawrence school board on Monday will consider hiring an architectural firm to execute planning and development of Choice Centennial Campus, a nontraditional high school program slated for the former elementary building.
Meet the 2025 candidates for Lawrence school board
We asked candidates running for Lawrence school board about the experience that they believe qualifies them to run, the board’s direction regarding bullying and disciplinary issues in the Lawrence school district, and much more.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Billy Mills Middle School locked down, dismissed after report of image of student with gun
Students are safe, but Billy Mills Middle School was locked down and then dismissed early for police to complete a thorough search after a student reported seeing a Snapchat image of another student with a gun.
Maya Hodison/Lawrence Times
Lawrence school district personnel testify in child sex crime case against former speech pathologist
Special education personnel in the Lawrence school district testified Friday that a former Prairie Park Elementary speech pathologist brought students without individualized education plans into private screenings, which is against policy.
Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence Times
Lawrence City Commission, school board candidates commit to transparency at forum
Candidates for the city commission and school board pledged to ensure transparency and improve collaboration between local government branches at a forum Wednesday.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Students arrested after Lawrence High School fire; district aims to improve communications
Two students were arrested following a small fire Monday at Lawrence High School, and the district says staff members will work to improve communication to parents in future emergencies.





