News Brief: School board relaxes graduation requirements
Jack Bellemere, Reporter
March 23, 2020
After a school board meeting earlier today, USD 497 Executive Director of Communications Julie Boyle announced the school board will reduce the number of credits required for students to graduate high school from 23 to 21. The decision follows a request by Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson for o...
Superintendent Lewis outlines continued education
Jack Bellemere, Reporter
March 23, 2020
During an online meeting on Wednesday March 18, Free State journalism editors interviewed USD 497 Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis about the district’s plans for the remainder of the school year. In light of Kansas governor Laura Kelly suspending in-person classes for the next several months, th...
USD 497 sues Juul for damages of vaping epidemic
Jack Bellemere, Reporter
February 24, 2020
“I don't think [the administration] outwardly cares about their students,” one anonymous student said when describing their frustration with USD 497’s anti-vaping initiatives. “I think they just care about reputation.” The student, who has used e-cigarettes since their freshman year, is descr...
News Brief: District advises families after potential local Coronavirus case reported
Sabrina Castle, Editor-in-Chief
January 29, 2020
On Tuesday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced a potential case of the Coronavirus at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. After recently visiting Wuhan, China the patient showed respiratory symptoms and was admitted to an isolation room designed for infection prevention. The same day, C...
News Brief: Board meeting on delayed start time
Isis Norris, Editor
December 11, 2019
At the December 9 board meeting, administration voted on an additional option for students to start their school day at 9:00 a.m. in the 2020-21 school year. This new option is in addition to the current 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. start times. Arriving at either 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m., students would be...
Administration releases new dress code
Sabrina Castle, Editor-in-Chief
November 11, 2019
On November 7, USD 497 Board of Education released an updated dress code draft. More lenient than past policies, the administration seeks to define more open guidelines of appropriate attire. According to the outline made public by email, the board intends to “support of the district’s focus on...
Blocked and Reported: Inaccessible websites restrict curriculum
Ridwan Firman, Reporter
October 9, 2019
Whether in ceramics or ball sports, the internet is an extensive resource that both teachers and students utilize. However, in recent years the full freedom of the web has been restricted as certain websites and programs are being blocked by administration for seemingly no reason at all. This issue ha...
Open parking recieves mixed feedback
Brooke Burgess, Reporter
October 8, 2019
In past years, the school’s parking spots have been separated by grade, giving seniors priority to the spots near the front. This year, the lot is open to all grades, giving students who come to school early better access to front spots. Administration was forced to make this change because of budgeting...
School Redesign Part 3: Restorative practices predicted beneficial to students
Jack Bellemere, Reporter
May 17, 2019
When a student gets in trouble at Free State, teachers traditionally “write up” that student, and send them to the office where administrators will dole out their punishment. However, english teacher Kylee Wright sees this protocol as archaic and ineffective. Instead, Wright wants to incorpor...
School Redesign Part 2: Teachers emphasize need for student feedback
Jack Bellemere, Reporter
May 17, 2019
“I don’t believe that teachers should have desks in their classroom,” said special education teacher Patrick Dipman. “I believe that what that creates is squatters rights.” Dipman is explaining one of his many ideas for the school redesign coming next school year, with suggestions such as ...
School Redesign Part 1: Plan approved by staff, efforts begin
Jack Bellemere, Reporter
May 17, 2019
“We customize everything everything,” graphic design teacher Michelle Salmans said. “We customize our phones, our laptops [and] our clothing. Why can't we customize our education? Salmans is referring to the upcoming school redesign project, dubbed “Kansans Can School Redesign.” The projec...
Teachers value maternity/paternity leave
Daulton Meadows, Reporter
May 15, 2019
Having a child is time consuming and expensive, which is why paid maternity is so crucial to new parents who teach. The Lawrence School District recognizes this and therefore offers paid maternity leave, something which many jobs do not provide to their employees. While taking a parental leave, some teachers...
Isabel Janssen, Photographer
March 3, 2020
Elana Ho, Photographer
February 25, 2020
Isabel Janssen, Photographer
February 4, 2020
Isabel Janssen, Photographer
January 27, 2020
January 7, 2020
Emily Zeller, Design Editor
November 6, 2019
Emily Zeller, Designer
October 15, 2019
Chloe Stafre, Designer
May 17, 2019
Photos by: Maya Pavlyak, Riley Boehle