How Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools Created an Asset-Based Learning Model Using the SIOP^® Framework

At Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS), linguistic and cultural diversity is not just acknowledged — it’s celebrated.

As a district where over 60 percent of families and students identify as Latino or Hispanic and nearly a third are classified as multilingual learners (MLs), KCKPS has turned what some districts may perceive as a challenge into one of its greatest strengths.

“We advocate for our students so much, building in that culture and that diversity into our classrooms,” said middle school teacher Stephanie Espy. “We just want to see that every student thrives.”

Through a districtwide asset-based learning approach and the structured implementation of Savvas Learning Company's SIOP^®® Model, KCKPS is creating a learning culture that honors the unique identities of all students and sets them on a path to academic success.

Embracing an Asset-Based Mindset

For many years, the student population at KCKPS has been unique compared to other districts across the state of Kansas. So district leaders have always made it their mission to view cultural and linguistic differences amongst their diverse student population as assets instead of obstacles.

Starting in 2019, the district committed to creating what it calls an “asset-based learning” culture — one that views students' home languages and cultures not as hurdles to overcome, but as rich resources that enhance learning for everyone.

“Our superintendent often says that we have a ‘super subgroup’ of multilingual learners and we definitely view that as an asset and celebrate the diversity,” said Jacqueline Rodriguez, director of multilingual education and services.

In order to build an asset-based learning model, district leaders brought on professional development initiatives that helped educators and administrators reframe how they think and talk about students and adopt more equitable teaching practices. Rather than focusing on what multilingual learners lack, the district highlighted what they bring: resilience, adaptability, and the cognitive benefits of bilingualism.

They were successfully changing their strategies for language and learning, yet they soon realized they needed a tool to help implement their ideal teaching methods. This crucial aid was found in the SIOP^® Model.

Using the SIOP^® Model as a Framework for Equity

In 2019, KCKPS adopted SIOP^® — which stands for Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol — to help them realize their commitment to an asset-based learning culture. SIOP^® did this by helping them provide a consistent and research-based framework for delivering content instruction in ways that are accessible and meaningful for multilingual learners.

Developed by language education experts, SIOP^® integrates best practices from both language development and content area instruction. It ensures that ML students are not only learning English but are also mastering academic content across subjects like math, science, and social studies at the same pace as their English-speaking peers.

“Originally teaching language was taught as a separate skill, but it's really more integrating it into our everyday lessons and the content and everything we do,” said Stephanie, the middle school teacher.

The district’s implementation of SIOP^® began with a few strategically selected schools and gradually expanded district wide in the 2024-2025 school year as district leaders saw a need for more consistency across the schools. Ensuring the fidelity of implementation across the district’s 43 schools, however, was no easy task.

“We started engaging in everything that we did through the lens of SIOP^®,” said Jacqueline. “We added content and language objectives to every PD. Then we continued to model from the top down with our principals, with our instructional coaches, and then to the teacher level.”

From there, Jacqueline and her colleagues established dedicated SIOP^® coaching roles, with coaches receiving in-person training from Savvas consultants. The coaches’ objectives were to support teachers in designing and delivering instruction aligned to the model, offering classroom feedback and co-planning opportunities. The coaches now also facilitate professional learning community (PLCs) meetings every Wednesday where teachers can collaborate, reflect, and share strategies.

“So then that set us up for success this year because every instructional coach received that training so they could deliver the professional development at their schools to their teachers on Wednesday afternoons. And so that was really key for us,” said Lindsey Schneider, director of professional development for the district.

Moving forward, the district’s leaders are also ensuring that their educators can align any new high-quality instructional materials they invest in with key elements of the SIOP^® Model, such as clear content and language objectives, opportunities for student interaction, and strategies that support academic language development for multilingual learners.

KCKPS teachers also now evaluate lessons to determine if any SIOP^® aspects are lacking and need to be incorporated.

“We call this ‘SIOP^®izing’ our high-quality instructional materials,” said Executive Director of Diploma+ College & Careers Instructional Program, Danira Fernandez-Flores. “And so with this SIOP^® instructional framework, we then have that resource ready to go for when teachers are having to build their lesson plans to ensure they've got the components necessary to meet the needs of all of our students.”

Demonstrated Outcomes

Schools that have implemented SIOP^® with fidelity are seeing increased engagement and improved academic outcomes among their multilingual learners. Teachers report that students are more confident in expressing their ideas, more willing to participate in class discussions, and better able to access complex content.

“I see a lot more student-to-student interaction,” said instructional coach Michelle Graham. “Their engagement is higher, they are more interested in what's going on, and that leads to better student outcomes.”

Moreover, the district’s multilingual learners are developing stronger academic vocabulary and showing gains on both language proficiency and content-area assessments.

The district leaders are also getting positive feedback from the staff. They often send out surveys after professional development sessions to assess success. The feedback is measured in two ways: the relevance of the training, and the effectiveness. The average score for relevance was 4.4/5 from 5,681 responses, while the average for effectiveness was 4.2/5, indicating the sessions met learning needs.

“When the adults are collaborating and working together, those kinds of behaviors replicate and mimic themselves into buildings and into classrooms,” said Danira. “That's also a success.”

There is also a visible cultural shift in classrooms. Teachers are using students' home languages and cultural backgrounds as instructional assets. Classrooms are becoming more interactive. And students are starting to see their multilingualism as a superpower rather than a deficit.

“I have seen so many benefits, not just for the students, but for the teachers as well,” said Stephanie. “We're being very consistent and that, I think, is helping us stay focused on what's best for our multilingual learners.”

*All photos and video provided by Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools.