The Independent School Wichita, KS

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Jessica Stong first came to The Independent School as a parent, and within three years rose into its highest leadership role. Read more about her leadership style and goals for the private K-12 school in this Q&A.

Find the 🔗 to the full story below.

We are so proud to see our Head of School, Jessica Stong, featured by the Wichita Business Journal.

Jess’s belief in knowing each student and understanding how they learn continues to shape the way she leads TIS. We are excited for our community to get to know more about the person leading our school forward. 💙

Thank you, Wichita Business Journal, for sharing her story.

Parent steps into top role at Independent School >> See the full article below ⬇️

TIS Faculty and staff are officially back together!

We spent the morning reconnecting, laughing, learning, and hearing from Head of School Jessica Stong about the year ahead.

The work of a new school year starts long before students walk through the doors. It starts with the people in this room, preparing to know every student well, challenge them with care, celebrate their growth, and help them become more confident in who they are and what they can do.

There is a lot ahead, and this team is ready for it.

We are so happy to be back together. 💙🐾

Our alumni brought plenty of energy back to the gym this weekend for the TIS Alumni Basketball Tournament. 🏀

Former Panthers reconnected, old teammates picked up right where they left off, and the competition stayed entertaining from the first game to the last. Thank you to everyone who played, cheered and helped make the day so much fun.

We always love welcoming our alumni back to campus. 💙🐾

Thank you to everyone who came out to Chicken N Pickle! Seeing so many Panther families laughing, playing, catching up, and welcoming new faces made the evening feel like the perfect start to a new school year.

We are so glad to have this community back together and cannot wait for all that is ahead. 💙

Some of the best friendships made at TIS do not end at graduation.

Recent TIS graduates Finnegan Harper, Marcello Lopez, and Owen Scott, along with senior Ben Sackett, spent two weeks traveling through 10 states. Their route took them from Kansas to the Grand Tetons, Oregon, Washington, and California, with plenty of national parks, hiking, camping, and adventure along the way.

The trip itself was incredible, but seeing these friendships continue into the next chapter is pretty wonderful too.

Game one set the tone. Alumni Basketball is officially underway, and nobody came back to take it easy. 🏀💙

Games continue throughout the afternoon, with the final matchup wrapping up around 4:30.

Come watch for free. The entertainment is guaranteed.

Pizza that gives back? That feels like a pretty solid Saturday plan. 🍕

Join us at Il Vicino in Bradley Fair during the Summer Send Off on Saturday, August 8, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Mention The Independent School when ordering, and 20% of your purchase will be donated back to TIS.

📍 2132 N. Rock Road

Come for lunch, enjoy the back-to-school activities around Bradley Fair, and help support our Panthers.

Recognize these little Panthers?

If you have been part of TIS for a while, you probably do. Hadley, Bret, Maya and Jack started Kindergarten at The Independent School and stayed all the way through Lower School, Middle School and Upper School, graduating together with the Class of 2026.

Across those thirteen years, we watched four very different personalities find their people, discover their strengths and leave their own marks on this school.

Hadley became a National Merit Finalist while also creating beautiful art, competing in swimming and earning recognition for the way she served and led her school community. Bret built and pitched an award-winning business and developed an eye for telling stories through photography. Maya found confidence, connection and belonging, stepped from backstage into the spotlight, and was recognized for her academics, leadership and community impact. Jack seemed to be everywhere at once, winning at Math Relays and Scholars Bowl, competing in sports, serving as class president and Prairie Schooner Mate, bringing the energy as an emcee and earning both the Spirit Award and the title of class GOAT.

The accomplishments make us incredibly proud. But so do all the years behind them. The friendships, the laughter, the mistakes that helped them grow, the teachers who knew when to encourage them, when to challenge them and when they were simply having a hard day, and the opportunities that helped each of them become more fully themselves.

Four Kindergarteners. Thirteen years. Four completely different stories.

And somehow, this is all just the beginning for them. 💙🐾