By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board will take a closer look at new state accreditation standards at its meeting at 6:30 tonight.

The state has established guidelines that prompt districts to promote social and emotional growth among students, improve kindergarten readiness, create individual plans of study, increase high school graduation rates, and increase post secondary success.

This is the first year for the new standards, which are a part of the Kansas Department of Education’s Kansans Can Project.

Seven schools across the state have been chosen for a pilot redesign project named after the Mercury 7 space mission.

Those schools participating include Stockton, Twin Valley, McPherson, Wellington, Liberal, Olathe and Coffeyville.

Twenty-one more schools will be added the following year in a Gemini project. Hays is not among these schools.

In other business, the district has been working on an agreement with Fort Hays State University that would create a tuition assistance program for teachers in Ellis County who wish to pursue master’s degrees.

The board will also:

• Hear a Technology Committee update

• Hear a report on the Digital Learning Plan

• Vote on a request to close the No Fund Warrant account and move $22,400 to the Captial Outlay Fund.

• Hear a report on changes to the Administrative and Classified handbooks.