El Dorado Public Schools

Where Pride Meets Purpose

A Community-Centered District Aligning Skills, Opportunity, and Investment for the Next Generation

 

In El Dorado, Kansas, education is more than a system; it is a shared identity. The local school district has long embraced the hashtag “Part of the Pride,” but over the past year that sentiment has been sharpened into a clear mission: “Where pride meets purpose.”

For Superintendent Jennifer Davis and her team, that phrase is not a slogan. It is the compass guiding a five-year strategic plan focused on student skills, authentic engagement, strong relationships, and thoughtful stewardship of facilities and resources.

“We spent a lot of time realigning our mission and vision and identifying our four core pillars,” Davis explains. “Each of our staff members, families, students, and community partners has a purpose and a stake in our schools, and that inevitably leads to pride. We show up every day knowing why we’re here and what we’re working toward.”

Those four pillars—student skills, engagement, relationships with families and community, and pride in facilities and resources—sit at the heart of El Dorado’s work. They also reflect the character of the broader community the district serves: close-knit, direct, and deeply committed to trust.

A Culture Built on Trust and Connection

As Director of Community Engagement and Recruitment, Kimberly Cope sees that culture up

close every day. In a smaller city like El Dorado, school, business, and civic life are intertwined. Administrators sit on the chamber of commerce board. Parents run local businesses. Teachers serve in civic groups. Students volunteer at community events and nonprofits. The connections are as natural as they are intentional.

“We’re fortunate that everything here is integrated,” Cope says. “We have parents who are business owners, teachers who are on civic boards, students out in the community volunteering and job shadowing. We try to capitalize on those relationships and foster them from school onward.”

The district pushes information out in many directions—a monthly newsletter that goes to parents, staff, and a growing list of community subscribers; content shared through the chamber to local businesses; and a steady stream of stories and updates on Facebook and Twitter. But just as important as the channels is the tone.

“Our community really values transparency, honesty, and trust,” Cope notes. “We try to model those values back. Sometimes trust can be a struggle in any district, so we work very hard to be open, honest, and as transparent as possible.”

That emphasis on trust also underpins a deeper communications strategy now in development. Surveys, internal research, and community conversations are all feeding into a strategic communications plan designed to strengthen relationships and ensure families feel informed and heard.

Technology as Skill, Not Novelty

Long before many districts were thinking about devices for every student, El Dorado was already there. The district has been one-to-one for close to two decades, from pre-K through 12th grade. What began as an effort to give students access to digital tools has evolved into a deliberate push to treat technology as a core skill.

“We’ve gone through the cycle where technology is a tool and a resource,” Davis says. “Now we’re really developing it as a skill set. We don’t want our students at a deficit in today’s job market.”

That perspective led the district to adopt a formal AI policy last year—covering both student and staff use. Rather than banning artificial intelligence, El Dorado is leaning into it, teaching students how to use AI responsibly and effectively, and encouraging teachers and administrators to incorporate it into their own workflows.

“We value 21st-century skills, and AI is not going away,” Davis says. “If we don’t teach our students and families how to use it, we’re putting them at a disadvantage.”

The district’s technology infrastructure is robust and flexible. Multiple device types can be used interchangeably across buildings without losing connectivity or access, an achievement that can be elusive in multi-site districts. That flexibility supports a wide range of programming—from early STEM exposure to advanced technical courses.

From STEM Curiosity to Career-Level Skills

El Dorado’s focus on STEM and STEAM begins early. Through Project Lead the Way, offered from pre-K through fifth grade, students explore science, technology, engineering, and math in hands-on ways. Three of the district’s elementary schools have been recognized as Project Lead the Way Distinguished Schools, a reflection of both access and consistency.

In elementary grades, students attend STEM “specials” multiple times a week, building comfort with the tools and language of science and technology. By middle school, the work takes on a more career-oriented flavor. Career and technical education pathways are introduced earlier, and students can experiment with coding, 3D printing, basic computer-aided design, and other technical disciplines.

The progression continues in high school, where the district now offers around a dozen CTE pathways spanning areas such as media and graphic design, industrial arts, FCCLA and culinary, health science, and a full audio-visual program that streams games, produces graphics, and manages media production. Technology is not confined to computer labs; it is embedded across the curriculum.

Importantly, those pathways are not static. Every two years, the district conducts a comprehensive needs assessment, aligning program offerings with both student interest and local economic needs. That process has led, for example, to the addition of a sports medicine strand within the health science pathway, reflecting demand for athletic training and wellness professions, and to the creation of a law, public safety, and security pathway in response to student interest and local opportunities linked to the nearby correctional facility and government agencies.

“We look at the data and adjust,” Davis says. “We’ve added classes where interest and opportunity are strong, and we’ve put others on rotation to make room. The goal is to give students meaningful choices that connect to real careers.”

Real-World Experience Through Community Partnerships

Those connections to real careers extend far beyond the classroom. The district’s JAG-K program—Jobs for America’s Graduates–Kansas—plays a central role in bridging school and work. JAG-K staff regularly bring business and military representatives into the schools to speak with students, while also organizing job-shadowing, volunteering, and hands-on experiences at local employers and nonprofits.

Students have assisted at nonprofits and boutiques, helped set up community events, shadowed veterinarians, and explored a variety of workplaces. JAG-K staff keep in touch even after graduation, helping alumni with job applications and next steps when needed.

Partnerships with Butler Community College Deepen the Pipeline, Particularly in Healthcare.

Through a collaborative CNA program, students complete both classroom hours and on-the-job training, graduating with certified nursing assistant credentials in hand. Dual-enrollment opportunities with Butler are extensive enough that some students finish their college graduation ceremonies before they walk across the high school stage.

“There are students who graduate high school already holding industry-recognized certifications in welding, automotive technology, fire science, and other high-demand fields,” Cope says. “By eighteen, they can go straight into good-paying jobs.”

The logistical barriers are low as well. Because Butler has a presence in El Dorado, some college-level courses are taught right on the high school campus by Butler faculty, making it easier on families and students. The college has also periodically offered tuition-free classes to high school students, depending on funding, further smoothing the path.

Beyond college credit, the district uses the WorkKeys assessment to give students a portable snapshot of their workplace skills. Partnering with the chamber and local businesses, El Dorado helps students understand their results and use them in job searches, particularly in hands-on and technical roles.

Investing Capital with Purpose

Behind the programming and partnerships is a disciplined approach to capital investment. In Kansas, districts may levy up to eight mills for capital outlay. For years, El Dorado sat below that cap, in part because major bond referendums had funded new facilities. The result is a district with relatively modern buildings and significant bond obligations, requiring careful prioritization of capital funds.

One of the largest upcoming projects is a new support services building, expected to cost around three million dollars. It will consolidate and modernize spaces for maintenance, custodial supplies, shipping and receiving, and transportation. The current facility, originally envisioned but never completed under an older bond program, is in rough shape; upgrading it means investing directly in the systems that keep the district running.

Over the past three years, the district has also undertaken a series of high-impact facility upgrades. BG Stadium, shared in partnership with the city and Butler, received new turf and a resurfaced track. Weight rooms and gym floors have been refreshed. The auditorium has been renovated. Each project reflects both the community’s expectations for quality and the shared-use model that helps stretch limited dollars.

On the technology side, the district follows a five-year rotation plan, dedicating roughly a quarter of a million dollars annually to devices and network infrastructure. Vehicles are treated with similar discipline. El Dorado is one of the few Kansas districts transporting students starting at one mile from school, rather than the more common two and a half, which requires a larger fleet. A long-range vehicle plan supports steady replacement and upgrades, including the recent purchase of two new Suburbans.

Even transportation has become an opportunity for pride and partnership. A new activity bus, developed in collaboration with the El Dorado Sports Foundation, has been transformed from a standard route bus into more of a tour bus, complete with upgraded interior and custom graphics. The foundation funded the enhancements and exterior wrap, giving students a rolling symbol of their identity as Wildcats.

Throughout, the district has made a point of protecting staffing by keeping salaries out of capital as much as possible and anchoring them instead in the general fund. Five-year plans for facilities, technology, and vehicles are shared publicly as part of the strategic plan, reinforcing the broader goal of trust and transparency.

Programs That Define a District

If one event encapsulates El Dorado’s “pride meets purpose” ethos, it is the annual Back to School Bash. Organized by the student liaison and the college and career specialist, who also serves as volunteer coordinator, the Bash transforms the performing arts center into a one-stop hub of support just before the school year begins.

The event is completely free. Families stream in—more than 600 this past year during a two-hour window—and move from station to station. School supplies, shoes, clothing, and hygiene products are available. Local stylists provide haircuts. Volunteers repair bicycles. Staff help with enrollment and assist families in completing applications for free and reduced-price meals. Fifteen to twenty youth organizations set up tables to share information about scholarships, free activities, and support services.

Lines form around the building well before the doors open. For many families, the Bash is both a lifeline and a celebration, bringing together schools, nonprofits, businesses, and volunteers in a visible show of community.

Right now, the event is marketed primarily to El Dorado students, but there is active discussion about expanding to serve more of the county, given the level of need. Balancing capacity and reach will be one of the key questions over the next cycle.

New Opportunities on the Horizon

Even as core academics and existing programs evolve, El Dorado continues to add new opportunities in response to student interest. Esports, now a sanctioned activity under the Kansas State High School Activities Association, has become a full-fledged program with its own dedicated lab. In athletics, the district is responding to the rapid growth of girls’ wrestling by splitting its wrestling program, creating distinct girls’ and boys’ teams at both middle and high school levels, each with its own coaching staff. Last year, El Dorado sent six girls to the state tournament; the expanded structure aims to build on that success.

Looking ahead over the next eighteen to twenty-four months, the district’s priorities reflect everything that has been set in motion: completing the support services building, exploring additional turf projects, expanding the Back to School Bash, solidifying the strategic communications plan, and continuing to refine student programs based on data, interest, and economic needs.

At the center of it all are students—toddlers splashing at Pendergrass Park under a newly installed splash pad, middle schoolers experimenting with 3D printers, high schoolers streaming games from the AV room, and graduates stepping into the world already holding CNA licenses, welding certifications, or a semester’s worth of college credit.

In a time when funding pressures and rapid change could easily push a district into survival mode, El Dorado has chosen a different path: lead with purpose, act with transparency, invest with intention, and trust that pride will follow.

AT A GLANCE

Who: El Dorado Public Schools

What: A city focused on its strategic plan, support services and student success

Where: Kansas, USA

Website: www.usd490.org