Iola High School was a place transformed Tuesday evening. For years, its hallways had been nearly empty during spring parent-teacher conferences, as the district struggled to combat low engagement in the high school.
As shown by Mustang NextStep Night, the answer lies in a new approach. Over 160 students accompanied their parents and guardians to the inaugural event, a remarkable improvement from years past.
NextStep Night is the invention of Dana Daugharthy, the district’s Career and Technical Education Coordinator.
“There would be years I would have one or two students come to my classroom,” Daugharthy said. “Personally, I always felt like I was wasting my time at parent-teacher conferences because I wasn’t conferencing. I wanted to talk to parents!
“This event was designed to help students think intentionally about their academic planning for the next school year and engage in conversations with their parents about the process,” said Daugharthy. “We want everyone to be aware of the great opportunities available to them.”
Tuesday provided that chance. The process was well-organized and provided an order that kept things moving.
Students registered in the commons area and picked up a packet with information on class selections, summer school info, postsecondary options, PowerSchool login, and more. In the gym, students and their parents met all their teachers by department. Teachers ensured students would enroll in the correct class for the coming school year and signed off on their choices.
Afterwards, students transitioned to a laptop station where they signed up for classes. Kyleigh Harper, high school attendance secretary, made sure parents and guardians were also signed up for grade notifications.
A variety of student clubs and organizations, along with partners from local community colleges, were also present in the gym. Students could learn more about Zero Reasons Why, Upward Bound and more. If students opted to sign up for college classes, they had the opportunity to talk with college representatives about the experience.
Lastly, once the sign-off sheet was complete, students headed back into the cafeteria for a free meal. Principal Scott Carson was on the grill, and administrative secretary Jana Taylor ensured the food experience was top-notch. Completed forms were entered into a raffle drawing for prizes.
DAUGHARTHY credited a team spirit for making the night a success.
“I couldn’t have accomplished this without the help of a team that put a lot of work into the event,” he said. “Administrators Scott Carson and Tristan Carson were willing to help. Tabitha Simpson and Kyleigh Harper were the key drivers in making my ideas a reality. They spent hours organizing the event.”
Student Council members also played a key role, volunteering time outside of school hours to call every single household of 8th through 11th grade students. Daugharthy highlighted the event’s importance for current 8th-graders, noting it was many students’ first exposure to high school teachers.
Feedback, Daugharthy said, was overwhelmingly positive.
“Teachers were not used to seeing so many people, so that was nice,” he said. “There were a couple of suggestions that we will look to change in the future.”
And for the adults who still want to sit in the classroom and review their student’s performance in depth, the high school still made time Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for those longer conversations.
