KCKPS Board Races:  The Candidates in Their Words  

Rachel Russell

Current Occupation: Director of Equity and Community at Local Nonprofit

Age: 36

Rachel is a dynamic nonprofit professional dedicated to volunteerism, equity, and service. She is Director of Equity & Community Engagement at United Community Services of Johnson County, leading race equity and community initiatives. With nearly a decade of nonprofit experience, Rachel is passionate about advancing systemic change to improve health outcomes. She also serves as Vice President of the Kansas City Kansas USD 500 Board of Education, chairing Facilities and Boundary Committees. A proud mother of three, avid traveler, and die-hard Chiefs fan, Rachel lives by her favorite quote: “Love the life you live; live the life you love.”

Sheyvette Dinkens

Current Occupation: Nonprofit Director & Professor

Age: 40

Sheyvette Dinkens is a community advocate, a licensed real estate agent, an innovative thinker, doer, and an award-winning educator.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Washburn University, a Master of Business Administration from Baker University, and a Master’s degree in Secondary Education from Fort Hays University.

She serves as the Precinct Committee Person for 11-03 in Wyandotte County, a member for the Superintendent’s Parent, Caregiver, Community Collaborative Council (SPCCCC), the KCKPS Boundary Committee, an advisory member for Wyandotte County’s DA Office’s Community Liaison Board, Leadership Kansas alumni, and Centurion, Class of 2027.

Joycelyn Strickland-Egans

Current Occupation: Educator

Age: 58

Joycelyn’s professional experience includes an Elementary Education Degree: Emporia State University and a Master’s Degree: Kansas State University.  I’m a lifelong resident of Wyandotte Co., alumni of Banneker, Arrowhead and Washington High School.  Joycelyn’s biological children graduated from Sumner Academy.  She comes with School Board experience, having served as treasurer and vice president.  She retired from KCKPS District after 35 years of service. Joycelyn also served in many roles including Instructional Coach, Grade Level Leader, Efficacy Curriculum Writer, and stakeholder. She currently volunteers at Lindbergh and Banneker through Community Partnerships. In addition, Joycelyn serves on the Superintendent’s Council, KNEA, Metropolitan Leadership Board, and is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Pamela Penn-Hicks

Current Occupation: Retired Federal employee

Age: 69

Pamela is a homeowner/resident of Kansas City Kansas for 43 years. Mother of 2, grandmother of 7 and great-grandmother of 2. She was employed with the United States Postal Service for 38 years as a proud union member. Pamela attended Duke University and graduated from Kansas University with a bachelor degree in Psychology. Community involvement: grassroots organizations serving the underserved and community development, nonprofit boards serving youth, appointed to education and community task forces.

Russell: Improving student attendance requires addressing both external barriers and in-school experiences. While tackling challenges like housing insecurity and transportation is essential, schools must also create environments where students feel seen, supported, and excited to learn. I support strengthening student involvement in curriculum development, ensuring their voices shape what and how they learn. Offering more flexible class scheduling can also help meet diverse family and student needs. Moving away from a lecture-based model toward hands-on, student-guided learning allows students to engage more deeply, with teachers serving as facilitators rather than lecturers. This approach fosters ownership, creativity, and relevance in learning. Additionally, incentivizing learning through recognition, celebrations, and real-world connections provides students with meaningful reasons to attend. When schools cultivate belonging, elevate student voice, and make learning engaging, students are far more likely to show up, thrive, and succeed.

Dinkens: One of my core platforms is amplifying student voices. I truly believe it starts by welcoming every student into the conversation. Together, we can look honestly at the reasons behind attendance challenges and work toward solutions that make a real difference. Since August 2023, I’ve proudly championed half-day schedules for Juniors and Seniors, knowing that many of our students balance full-time jobs and family commitments. Picture a system where students spend part of their day in essential classes and the rest gaining valuable real-world experience through work, college courses, or internships. I wholeheartedly support a district shelter for our McKinney–Vento families, so every student has a safe place to call home. Most importantly, strong relationships with families are at the heart of our success. That’s why I’m committed to making sure every school building has a Family and Community Engagement Specialist to support and connect us all.

Strickland-Egans: To develop an engaging environment where students feel seen and supported, we need to be available and open to speaking with student groups.  We need to have sports/arts/extra curricular activities that cater to a variety of diverse talents and interests.  We need to support Social and Emotional Learning.  Building school climates that welcome students and their parents is key.  Students should feel the school is safe, with a relevant and engaging curriculum.  We should award school attendance, and act proactively. By engaging parents positively, we can ensure their support with getting students to school. 

Penn-Hicks: Addressing absenteeism requires developing a support structure that focuses on the individual student’s needs. Build a relationship with the student and their family to identify what factors are contributing to absences. Identify resources that address and resolve those factors. Other strategies that support attendance include mentoring, coaching and providing alternative learning options when necessary. The goal is to re-orient the student towards participating in their education process by providing an engaging, structured, safe, supportive environment.

Russell: Supporting students with diverse learning needs requires strong recruitment, retention, and training of special education staff. I believe this begins with transparency—ensuring clear communication around staffing challenges, progress, and solutions. Setting department-specific SMART goals provides accountability and measurable outcomes that keep us focused on improvement. I also support continuing the promising work already underway, including team huddles that build collaboration and shared problem-solving, as well as the KU mentorship partnership that strengthens leadership capacity. To improve retention, we must invest in professional development, recognize staff contributions, and create supportive environments where educators feel valued and heard. Recruitment efforts should highlight our district’s commitment to equity and student-centered learning, attracting professionals who share that vision. By combining transparency, clear goals, collaborative practices, and strong mentorship, we can better support special education staff and ensure every student receives the resources and care they need to succeed.

Dinkens: The KCKPS special education department has faced on-going challenges with the past three department leaders. To move forward, we need a complete update. Forming a Process Improvement Team with staff, teachers, parents, and students to create changes that are practical and easy to put in place. Building a recruitment team from SPED staff who are passionate about their work and can help us identify the skills we need. Training should be realistic and manageable, so the entire SPED team should assist with developing their own professional development protocol.

Strickland-Egans: I would advocate for competitive salaries, invest in professional development for current training in specialized areas and advocate for reduced work loads. I would support expanding recruitment efforts, the building of the special education pipeline (exposing high school students to careers in special education) and prioritize funding. I would also support an inclusive culture.

Penn-Hicks: Special education teachers require additional training in educational strategies and compliance with federal laws. Initial recruitment of potential special education employees should include clear communication of their organizational roles and responsibilities. In their employment capacity they are able to identify the supports that will enable them to provide the services students need. Open ended communication, consistent progressive training, participatory engagement with all service providers and being recognized for their unique role in education could help retain the staff needed to support the education of special needs students.

Russell: Student and staff safety must remain our highest priority, and I believe the board, district, and police department are united in that commitment. While the district has been proactive in addressing specific issues, we must also strengthen communication, transparency, and accountability with our community. I recognize that not all safety protocols can be publicly shared for security reasons, but we can and should be upfront about the changes we are making and why. Developing a clear plan for transparency builds trust and ensures families feel informed and engaged. Safety does not stop at the school doors—it extends to safe streets and a safer community overall. This requires collaboration between schools, families, and community partners. By working together, we can create safer environments where students are protected, staff are supported, and trust between the district and community is reinforced. It truly takes all of us.

Dinkens: To improve communication, I would make sure information is available in different languages and that each building sends out regular newsletters that are community and parent facing. I would also encourage open conversations about challenges and areas for growth, which helps keep everyone accountable and involved. These steps not only make schools safer but also help families feel respected and included. Sharing data and inviting public input in more ways than just board meetings or online surveys is important. When developing policies, we should clearly define staff roles and responsibilities to support safety, follow reporting guidelines and keep communication open with the community. It’s also important to focus on cultural responsiveness so that safety measures are implemented equitably.

Strickland-Egans: I would support transparency and clear communication between parents, staff and community. I would want the policies shared and followed with rationale behind each policy.  Supplying updated information regularly and publicly would be a priority. I would support monitoring the policies in real time. I would like to respond to community concerns promptly while building trust with community members. With safety and security protocols, all policies should be proactive and include the knowledge of our campus officers as stakeholders.  As we utilize our website, open school board meetings and hold community meetings we would be able to create and maintain long term safety strategies.

Penn-Hicks: The district needs to establish and communicate to the public clear well-defined policies for handling safety incidents. An opportunity for community engagement to explain policies, educate on the protocols for reporting incidents, how incidents are processed, who makes the decisions on the response to incidents and receive feedback would help improve transparency, establish accountability and build trust.