USD320 Wamego

December 1, 2025

After the recent election, a few changes are coming to the USD 320 Board of Education when the new board is seated in January. John Paul Washburn was elected to replace outgoing board member Mike Billings, and Trish Schliffke was elected to fill the seat being vacated by Sheryl Wohler. As they finish out their terms, I want to express my sincere appreciation to Mr. Billings and Mrs. Wohler for their years of dedicated service to the Wamego School District. Current board members Jolene Meyer and Brian Nelson were both re-elected to their respective districts.

The board of education meets regularly on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Additional meetings appear on the published schedule, and special meetings may be called by the board as needed. Information about the board of education can be found on our website or by contacting the district office.

At the November meeting, the board reviewed several pieces of the district’s achievement data. In last month’s column, I shared the positive results of our state assessments. While achievement tests are an important tool for measuring effectiveness, they provide only a limited snapshot—and state assessments occur just once each year.

Measuring ongoing achievement is important, but our ultimate goal is to ensure students are successful after they leave us. This is much harder to measure. One method is the Kansas State Department of Education’s (KSDE) “Post-Secondary Success” metric, which tracks how many recent graduates attend college or technical programs, earn industry credentials, or remain enrolled two years after graduation.

This measure is especially important given anticipated workforce needs. An estimated 70–75% of future jobs will require some form of education or training beyond high school—compared to only about 30% of jobs in the 1970s. The post-secondary category includes far more than traditional college pathways; it also encompasses technical schools and industry recognized certification programs.

It is important to note that this metric is not perfect nor is it an indicator of overall “success.” Many people who do not meet KSDE’s definition nonetheless go on to lead highly successful lives. Additionally, the data is significantly lagging, as it measures graduates two years after high school. Any improvements we make today will take time to appear in the numbers.

Wamego’s five-year average post-secondary success rate is 48.5%. This is similar to the state average but falls short of the 70–75% goal. A bright spot, however, is that our most recent annual rate increased from 41% to nearly 54%. Even so, there is still work to do.

Some of that work includes ensuring accurate reporting to the state, strengthening students’ Individual Plans of Study, and expanding job-shadowing and internship opportunities. We offer an excellent college-preparatory curriculum alongside strong career and technical programs. We can recognize that we serve many of our students very well while also acknowledging that we can continue to improve. We will keep working to enhance opportunities that help students build readiness for life after graduation—because ultimately, this matters far more than any single data point.

On behalf of everyone at USD 320, I want to wish you all a happy holiday season and a very Merry Christmas.  I’m proud to serve the ONE Wamego community and grateful for the unity that makes our schools strong.  As always, if you’d like to visit about any of these topics or have other questions or concerns, I can be reached at 785-456-7643 or at meyerj@usd320.com. 

-Josh Meyer – USD 320 Superintendent