While the creation of a Professional Plan Period, which is used as a time for the teachers to meet with other teachers and plan lessons and exams, was well-received by most teachers, the large class sizes...

Former government teacher and local Lawrenceian Matt Beat, also referred to as “Mr. Beat,”online creates educational videos about history for his audience of 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube. Beat...

For the 2025-2026 school year, the USD 497 School Board made the decision to switch from iPads to MacBooks for the two high schools, having the middle schools still use iPads. Despite having used MacBooks...

Starting in 2025-2026, the school district made the executive decision to cut down almost every teachers’ classes from six to five in order to give each of them an additional plan period called professional...

Women from all over the Sunflower State gather in Pratt, Kan. in an attempt to take home the title of Miss Kansas each year. This year, Free State math teacher Stephanie Harris took on the role of executive...

With the end of the school year around the corner, English teacher Josie Clark is leaving the nest to make her move back to Missouri, ultimately concluding her final year at Free State, and her fifth year...

This quarter, numerous students have been nominated as Student of the Quarter. Students are chosen based on their behaviors in the classroom, how they represent their best selves through actively showing...

USD 497 is currently implementing the Centegix CrisisAlert System. With the goal to increase safety measures, the district has agreed to a five-year agreement with an annual recurring fee of $49,200 to...

With over 200 participants, the National Honor Society teacher supply drive gave school supplies to over 80 teachers. The drive occurred on Jan. 21, and was the first ever NHS school supply drive.  According...

It was the same as any other ordinary day as senior Lucas Fearn and ceramics teacher Mr. Lewis ate lunch together after school in the ceramics room. “On Wednesday of the second week of school...