February 8, 2020

On April 7, 2020 Lee’s Summit residents will head to the polls to elect new LSR-7 school board members. Suburban Balance announced that they will host a Lee’s Summit School Board Candidate Forum on Thursday, March 26, 2020 from 6:30pm-8:30pm at the Missouri Innovation Campus (MIC) located at 1101 NW Innovation Parkway, Lee’s Summit, MO 64086. This will be the Lee’s Summit base non-profit organization’s first-time hosting such an event. “First and foremost, congratulations to all school board candidates who have decided to run in 2020, said LaShawn Walker, Suburban Balance Founder & CEO. We are extremely excited to host this important event for the residents of Lee’s Summit. Our phenomenal school district is a cornerstone of our community that makes Lee’s Summit a great place to live. It is our hope that the candidate forum will help increase overall community engagement in the school board election process throughout the community including student engagement. We are honored to provide this opportunity for all residents of Lee’s Summit to come out and learn more about all candidates so that the community can make an educated vote on election day, Tuesday, April 7, 2020”. Please note March 11, 2020 is the deadline to get registered to vote.

The forum is free and open to the public. It will also be live streamed on the Suburban Balance Facebook page. Please feel free to share this information with friends, neighbors, family members and colleagues. We look forward to seeing you all there. Suburban Balance is a non-profit education-based organization with over 300 families involved that was founded in 2013 that serves as a support organization for families of color raising their kids in the suburbs.

IMPORTANT REASONS WHY WE MUST GET ENGAGED, ATTEND FORUM & VOTE:

• Achievement gaps between black and white students exist at every grade level and in every content area; ranging from 17-35%.

• The elementary school gifted program enrollment of 295 students in Lee’s Summit includes 260 white students (88%) and only 6 black students (2%).

• Black students account for 12% of total student enrollment, but black students with an IEP account for 18% of all IEPs.

• Black students are, on average, academically 1.7 grades behind White students.

• Black students are 3.5 times as likely to be suspended as White students.

• African American students account for 12% of total student enrollment, but African Americans make up only 4% of total staff.

• Black and white students living in poverty underperform wealthier students of their same races on ELA and Math proficiency tests. However, white students living in poverty outperform black students living in poverty by 13-29%.

Candidate Forum Contact: LaShawn Walker [email protected]