News In Brief: Catch up on school, local and national news

East

The East Building Leadership Team changed the structure of seminar this year so every student can get the help they need

Seminar is being split into two sections and renamed to Lancer WIN —What I Need — where students can get academic help and attend club meetings. 

Last year, seminar was at the end of the day, giving students an excuse to leave an hour and a half early from school. Now, it’s every Tuesday and Thursday between second and fourth hour, designed to help keep students on top of their work and engaged in school activities.

“I like the acronym because the whole point of seminar is to give kids a little bit of what they need,” Principal Jason Peres said. 

On Tuesdays, WIN time will be divided into two sessions. Session A will allow students to seek academic help, like meeting with a teacher, while session B will be time for clubs and groups to meet. Students must maintain academic standings to participate in these club meetings.

“We want kids to be supported academically, behaviorally, socially, but we also want them to make connections,” Peres said.

Thursday’s WIN time will be only 25 minutes, due to a later start time, and used as advisory time for students. This session is dedicated to working on Xello— an online program that helps students build their career path and plan for future success.

To evaluate the success of the new and improved seminar, East will put out surveys for student feedback, and will also heavily rely on parents and teacher’s input.

“Our goal here is that everybody has a connection with an adult and with each other, therefore everyone belongs,” Peres said.

National

The Taliban has overthrown the Government in Afghanistan and have started to negotiate with other countries.

The Taliban, a religious, political and militant organization has taken power in Afghanistan, following President Joe Biden’s announcement that U.S. troops will fully withdraw by Sept. 11 of this year.

Biden stated that the withdrawal is simply the fulfillment of the agreement former President Donald Trump signed with the Taliban in February of 2020. This takeover has caused increased violence in Afghanistan, with the recent deaths of 13 U.S. soldiers and 90 Afghans after a suicide bombing in the Kabul airport. 

It took the Taliban just a few days to take control of Afghanistan, with most cities unable to retaliate. This forced the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country, and with the withdrawal of U.S. troops, Afghan forces surrendered to the Taliban force. 

English teacher Amy Andersen teaches the book “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” by Khaled Hosseini, a story set during past Taliban rule in Afghanistan, to her senior AP students. Andersen believes it gives students a better understanding of the situation then.

“I thought it would be a really good experience to see beyond the headlines and look at people’s actual experiences in the country,” Andersen said.

The Taliban have claimed they will be more tolerant and respect basic human rights now that they’re in power, including respecting women’s rights and granting amnesty, according to The Washington Post. However, due to their harsh rule over women in prior years, this has left many people doubtful of their promises, including Andersen.

“I think most of us are skeptical and want to see action, not just the words,” Andersen said.

Local

A new infrastructure plan has been approved for 18th and Vine.

A district in the downtown Jazz District of Kansas City, 18th and Vine, has been approved by the Kansas City Council to receive funds for new developments of the neighborhood. 

The district is known for the American Jazz and Negro League Museums, hosting Jazz legends Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, and many more. 

According to The Kansas City Star, project money for the developments will be obtained by a loan or bond issuance. They will be repaid by a one-cent sales tax on retail goods sold in the area. 

Board of director member for the district Kelvin Simmons is strongly behind this development due to an increased push to bring a sense of moderness to the district. Simmons is trying to bring in a significant amount of funding to the district, which would bring more to the neighborhood and district than it ever had in the past.

The neighborhood members hope to use the funds to provide affordable housing at a market rate level. In turn, that would allow other income levels to join the neighborhood.

“The community benefits because it has teachers, policemen and firemen that can raise a family in this neighborhood,” Simmons said.

The board would like to break ground in the fall of 2021, Simmons believes it is a 12-14 month construction process.

“At the end of that 12-14 months we are hopeful that people can start moving in, and that’s the catalyst for all of the other bases to also begin,”  Simmons said.