Wide Ruled: The future of Kansas schools with education commissioner Randy Watson
June 7, 2017 | Nathaniel Bozarth
Editor’s note: In partnership with the Wide Ruled podcast hosted by Brainroot Light and Sound, Startland News hopes to offer its audience more avenues to learn about innovators in Kansas City. Opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone.
Wide Ruled is a Kansas City-based podcast focused on equality in education. Each episode showcases a struggle or triumph in working toward a better education system.

Nathaniel Bozarth
In this episode, host Nathaniel Bozarth talks with Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson about the Kansas School redesign initiative — a push for Sunflower State educators to think more entrepreneurially about schools.
Home of the landmark 1954 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education decision, Kansas does not historically have the best track record as far as systemic inequality in education goes. Bozarth’s conversation with Watson looks to the future of Kansas education, discussing the Kansans Can vision as well as inequity in Kansas education.
Listen to the conversation in the podcast below.
Nathaniel Bozarth is a regional Emmy-award winning producer with Brainroot Light and Sound. Over the past three years he’s teamed up with Christopher Cook to create engaging documentary content on how race and immigration impact opportunity in America. Wide Ruled is Brainroot’s newest production on this trajectory. @bo_nathaniel

2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Report: Kansas is more innovation-friendly than Missouri
The Sunflower State is more hospitable to innovation than its eastward neighbor, a recent study found. The Consumer Technology Association’s annual “Innovation Scorecard” ranked all 50 states in 10 different categories to determine which states best fostered innovation and economic growth. The study dished Kansas slightly higher innovation kudos than Missouri, comparing their friendliness to…
Another Uber fiasco? KCMO proposes $600 fee, regulations for Airbnb hosts
Recently proposed city regulations could throw Kansas City home-sharing in the doghouse. More than 100 area hosts and guests of services like Airbnb and VRBO fueled a discussion Monday on home-sharing regulations that the City of Kansas City, Mo., is proposing after complaints of abuse. Led by assistant city manager Rick Usher, city officials met…
Kansas City is a top 10 locale for women-owned businesses
The Kansas City area is a top destination for women to own a business, according to a new report. A study released Monday by personal finance website WalletHub placed Kansas City in the top 10 U.S. cities for women-owned businesses. WalletHub ranked the 100 most-populated metropolitan areas, doling out points for new business friendliness, female…
