Education First Shawnee Mission

07/27/2026

Early voting is in full swing in our area! Make sure you have a plan to vote early or on August 4th. While EFSM is not releasing endorsements for this primary, we recommend checking out Game On for Kansas Schools for specific race endorsements. And be sure to vote NO on the constitutional amendment!

✅ Early In-Person Voting begins tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.!

Vote at any of the 12 advance voting locations located throughout Johnson County from July 18 – August 3. Same days. Same locations. Same hours. Find locations online at JocoElection.org/AdvanceVoting

04/10/2026

📣 Friends, this one is worth your Sunday afternoon.

Civic Engagement Foundation is hosting the Keep Public Education Public Luncheon and we think you should be there!

🌟 They'll be honoring Judith Deedy of Game On for Kansas Schools — a tireless champion for our public schools.

🎤 Keynote: Rev. Mitch Randall, CEO of Good Faith Media — a plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court Drummond case. He has STORIES.

🗓️ Sunday, April 19 | 1–3 PM
🏛️ Indian Hills Country Club | Mission Hills, KS
🎟️ Tickets from $80 — 100% goes to the mission!

Grab your seat 👇

Every year, Mainstream gathers community and faith leaders at our annual event to learn more about how to fight back against extremist policies in Kansas. This year, we're moving our event to April 📆 so that you know exactly where we stand at the end of the legislative session 📜 and how we can...

04/09/2026

⌚️TAKE ACTION: Education Bills

Before hitting send, these links require you to add:

your STATE LEVEL rep & senator’s email address (use this link to find their contact info)

a greeting (Dear Rep ______ & Senator ______,)

your name and address at the end

Save their info to your contacts since you will need it four times.

✅ Click here to send a message urging your legislators to sustain the budget proviso vetoes that penalize student walkouts and include meaningless state assessment requirements. https://substack.com/redirect/9132b8f2-7f1e-4185-a688-505665a1ba46?j=eyJ1IjoiZWl0b2cifQ.ikRMuwWBkbnHBDdKjHNVdobEB1z9F2TidFSRJRwfinQ

✅ Click here to send a message urging your legislators to sustain the vetoes of voucher bills HB 2468 & SB 361 https://substack.com/redirect/d997403a-c5be-4546-a847-190afc44eb1f?j=eyJ1IjoiZWl0b2cifQ.ikRMuwWBkbnHBDdKjHNVdobEB1z9F2TidFSRJRwfinQ

✅ Click here to send a message urging your legislators to sustain the HB 2593 veto — power grab by the attorney general.
https://substack.com/redirect/dce9c7ab-6315-40a2-a7de-e3e346e82708?j=eyJ1IjoiZWl0b2cifQ.ikRMuwWBkbnHBDdKjHNVdobEB1z9F2TidFSRJRwfinQ

✅ Click here to send a message urging your legislators to sustain the HB 2745 veto — budget protest petition that puts budget veto power in the hands of the minority.
https://substack.com/redirect/4ce5b062-8b4c-449a-8667-9116dd48780b?j=eyJ1IjoiZWl0b2cifQ.ikRMuwWBkbnHBDdKjHNVdobEB1z9F2TidFSRJRwfinQ

NOTE: If the links don’t work for you, you can find copy & paste messages here that you can use after customizing the greeting.
https://substack.com/redirect/418bd7c4-91a2-44a3-83fe-ea154e5b581d?j=eyJ1IjoiZWl0b2cifQ.ikRMuwWBkbnHBDdKjHNVdobEB1z9F2TidFSRJRwfinQ

01/19/2026

Hello and Happy New Year to the SMSD Public Ed supporters!

Our legislators are in Topeka and moving FAST FAST FAST - The KS House Education committee will be taking up a number of measures, but we are *most* concerned about HB 2468 - a bill that would increase school voucher funding and usage in KS.

Here's your action item - it will take less than 3 minutes!

Send an email with an attached letter >>>IN PDF format

10/24/2025

The 2025 General Election Day is almost here and early in-person voting begins tomorrow in Johnson County! While all the Shawnee Mission School Board races are uncontested this year, it’s still extremely important to get out and make your voice heard. All three candidates are incumbants who are endorsed by Education First Shawnee Mission and have been stellar advocates on the school board during their time serving our community.

Depending on your location within the school district, you likely have other important local races on your ballot this year, such as county commission, mayor or city council…please get out and vote in your local elections! While Education First does not endorse in these races, you can find great information on candidates throughout the region via Mainstream Coalition.

Happy voting!

05/16/2025

News Archive Details - Shawnee Mission School District

04/13/2025

Still thinking the Dept. of Education cuts won’t hurt Kansas students? Think again.

Cities and counties will have to find ways to make up these shortfalls; typically that means increasing property taxes.

04/10/2025

The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funds from public schools that have diversity, equity and inclusion programs. We need your help. Please contact:

Kansas Commissioner of Education
Dr. Randy Watson
(785) 296-3202
[email protected]

SMSD Superintendent
Dr Michael Schumacher
913-993-6401
[email protected]

Governor of Kansas
Laura Kelly
877-KSWORKS (877-579-6757)
https://www.governor.ks.gov/serving-kansans/constituent-services/share-your-opinion

Script from Mrs. Frazzled:

Hi, my name is [Your Name}, and I’m a resident of [Your City/State].

I’m calling because I’m extremely concerned about the Department of Education’s recent letter demanding that SEAs and LEAS end DEI programs or risk losing funding.

I want to know:

Will [Kansas/SMSD] be complying?

Will you speak out publicly against these rollbacks of civil rights protections?

I believe our schools should reflect the needs of all students, especially those historically excluded or marginalized. Please don’t erase that work.

03/29/2025

In these chaotic times, community matters! The moms from Education First Shawnee Mission were thrilled to participate in today’s March for Democracy in downtown Kansas City. Big props to the organizers for planning such a peaceful, impactful event this morning!

03/09/2025

Standing room only at today’s legislative town hall hosted by Senator Cindy Holscher! Several Shawnee Mission area representatives joined to share more about the upcoming final weeks of the legislative session and what individuals in our community can do to support and protect our public schools. We are so thankful to our SMSD area representatives in the Kansas Statehouse who show up for their communities and are transparent with their actions in Topeka!