As it says in our mission statement, our engaged community is a large part of what contributes to ensuring our students create a strong foundation for life success. We wanted to say thank you to our entire community for being ALL IN on supporting Shawnee Mission School District students.
Your ongoing support helps us continue to have nationally ranked high schools, achieve a ranking by Forbes as one of the top places to work in the state, and have so many accomplishments to celebrate this year including, but not limited to:
- Jessica Tickle, engineering Signature Program instructor, was named a recipient of the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award. This honor is given to educators who demonstrate exceptional achievement in cybersecurity education.
- Matt Jenkinson, an Indian Woods industrial technology teacher, is one of three people selected from Kansas for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
- Kent Glaser, Shawnee Mission School District athletic director, was awarded the 2025 Kansas Athletic Director of the Year and District 3 Athletic Director of the Year by the Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (KIAAA).
- Dr. Kenneth Lee, Biotechnology Signature Program instructor, was honored as the Marie Miller Teacher of the Year by the Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair. Four of his students qualified for the International Science and Engineering Fair.
- The Kansas State Department of Education recognized Lara Caldwell, English Language Arts teacher at Horizons High School as a Kansas Teacher of the Year Region 3 semifinalist. Shauna Hammett, a kindergarten teacher at Apache Elementary School, was also honored by the Kansas Teacher of the Year program.
- The Shawnee Mission School District opened a new Rushton Elementary School Building as the 2024-2025 school year began. This was part of the $264 million bond referendum approved by voters in 2021. Construction continues on a new Tomahawk Elementary School.
- Shawnee Mission continued its second season of Shawnee Mission Mic’d Up- the Shawnee Mission School District podcast. Each episode highlights the students and staff that make us ONE Shawnee Mission. Click here to listen to recent episodes, download, and subscribe.
We thank all in our community who support the Shawnee Mission School District by being ALL IN for our students.
Shawnee Mission School District is the third largest school district in Kansas. The district serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade in 34 elementary schools, five middle schools, five high schools, and several educational centers. It has been consistently ranked among the finest school districts nationwide for its high student performance. The district’s objective is that each student will have a personalized learning plan that will prepare them for college and careers, with the interpersonal skills they need for life success. The district serves a diverse student population from 14 cities within northeast Johnson County, Kansas, which is 10 miles from downtown Kansas City, Missouri. For more information, visit www.smsd.org.
There are multiple ways you can stay up-to-date on all of the news highlighting students and staff members in the Shawnee Mission School District throughout this school year. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, or watch for stories posted under “recent news” on www.smsd.org. Have you heard our podcast? Click here to listen or subscribe.
