A new parking lot, the adoption of new graduation requirements and hiring new teachers are all issues facing Manhattan High administration this month.
Construction has officially begun for the new Oak Street Parking Lot. The project is estimated to finish in late April, about a month before the conclusion of the school year.
The newly constructed Oak Street lot will accommodate 88 additional parking spots. Additionally, 10 spots in the current Lower Oak Street lot will be occupied by a Konnex storage container for the duration of the construction. As the project nears completion, administrators are working to ensure the flow of traffic will transition smoothly.
“We are beginning to look at the map of the completed parking lot to determine the most efficient system,” Principal Michael Dorst said. “Not just for student arrival but keeping in mind arrival and dismissal, so we’re currently studying that.”
As the new graduation requirements approach implementation, the additional course content areas will require teachers and staff to adapt. However, Dorst believes that MHS will not need to significantly add more faculty positions to compensate for these new requirements.
“A lot of the new graduation requirements will affect this current eighth-grade class later in their high school career when they’re in their junior and senior year,” Dorst said. “So we are going to have time to evaluate as students lead up to their need for speech, financial literacy, and the additional science or technology for CTE or math requirement.”
According to Dorst, Financial Literacy courses will likely require additional staff, whereas public speaking, CTE, math, and PE/Health classes plan to be integrated within the current faculty bandwidth. Nonetheless, the need for additional teachers will depend upon enrollment numbers.
KSDE does not plan on allocating “weighted funding” to support schools’ transition to the new grad requirements. However, funding may impact advanced CTE programs, which already receive some support from the state. However, the determination of what qualifies as “advanced CTE” and thus the corresponding funding is still being evaluated by the state BoE as the new requirements are rolled out.
Regarding teachers, Manhattan High administrators are beginning this year’s hiring cycle. MHS is looking specifically at hiring ELA, social studies, science, ag, and special education positions. They are also looking to expand the driver’s ed program.
“Manhattan High School is an amazing place and we want to make sure that we are hiring great teachers to support our great high school family,” Dorst said. “We are always looking for opportunities to make sure we’re hiring people that represent our student population.”
