• Dogwood Elementary
• Hawthorne Elementary
• Kearney Early Education Center
• Kearney Middle School
• Kearney Junior High
• Kearney High School
• Southview Elementary

These awards recognize the top 15 percent of food service providers overseen by the county. In addition, Dogwood, the EEC, KHS and Southview earned Gold Standard Awards for earning the Food Safety Excellence Award three years or more in a row.

Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE) provides all services in KSD’s school cafeterias. SFE’s KSD staff is led by Director of Food Service Angie Lyman.

“Congratulations to Angie and the entire SFE team for their outstanding diligence and hard work on behalf of our students, staff members and visitors,” Superintendent Emily Miller said. “This is another example of how we go above and beyond to serve our families.”

The Food Safety Excellence Award recognizes food establishments that continue to successfully follow the Clay County Food Code, exhibit outstanding food safety and sanitation practices, and achieve exceptional inspection results during the calendar year, according to a press release from the public health center. To qualify for the award, honorees must meet multiple criteria such as having been open and operating for the full year with no repeated violations, no follow-up inspections needed, and no confirmed cases of foodborne illnesses.

“We are grateful for the hard work these establishments put in last year to not only meet but exceed the health department’s high standards of safety,” said Robert Gilliland, section chief of Environmental Health Protection. “We appreciate their partnership in protecting our community from foodborne illnesses, waterborne illnesses and other hazards.”

In 2023, the Environmental Health Protection section of Clay County Public Health Center conducted 1,530 routine food establishment inspections and 297 temporary food event inspections, and investigated 114 food-related complaints.

The post Several KSD Schools Honored for Food Safety Excellence appeared first on Early Education Center.

Kearney, Mo., November 30, 2023: Kearney Early Education Center staff, students and families will enjoy some Christmas-themed fun and games while celebrating their school’s recent expansion during an open house from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21. The school is located at 150 W. 92 Hwy.

Contractors completed a significant expansion of the EEC this summer as part of several capital improvement projects made possible by the Proposition B bond. The school roughly doubled in size and now includes the entire building that used to be shared with KSD’s central office.

This expansion significantly enhances KSD’s capacity to serve and support our pre-K children and their families. We’re excited to welcome the community into this state-of-the-art early education facility and celebrate the holiday season at the same time.

There will be a brief ribbon-cutting and photo opportunity at 6 p.m. with district and school leaders, staff, students and family members. School tours will also be available.

Members of the Chastain Parks family will be at the celebration. Mr. Parks owned and operated the Big V Country Mart grocery store that was originally at that location. The family provided significant support for KSD when it was converted to the district’s central office and EEC in 2018.

Thanks to the KSD Parents as Teachers program and its staff, the open house will feature student art projects, a door decorating contest, and a book fair, plus popcorn and hot cocoa. Children can visit with Santa Claus. Other activities will include:

• Snowman sensory pool
• Ornament making
• Reindeer food
• Obstacle course
• Polar bear bowling
• Tree toss

Anyone planning to attend should RSVP online before the event by visiting bit.ly/ksd-eec-celebration. This will help ensure that there are enough supplies and food for all the attendees.

The EEC expansion was just one of the Prop B projects that were finished on time as promised this summer. Other completed projects included the renovation of the Kearney High School auditorium, additional restroom facilities in the sixth-grade wing at Kearney Middle School, and roof replacement and wall repairs at Kearney Junior High.

The post EEC Celebrating Christmas and Expansion on December 21 appeared first on Early Education Center.

PLEASE NOTE: The open house and ribbon-cutting scheduled for Oct. 28 at the Early Education Center has been canceled and will be rescheduled. Stay tuned for more details.

Kearney, Mo., October 13, 2023: There will be events this fall in Kearney School District to mark publicly the completion of two major Proposition B capital bond projects.

The Kearney High School Auditorium Renovation Celebration will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at the school. This event will feature performances by the KHS choir, under the direction of Dustin McKinney, and the cast of the school’s upcoming production of the Disney musical “The Little Mermaid,” under the direction of Haley Kernes.

“We’re excited to welcome the community into our school to see this beautiful new facility,” KHS Principal Andy Gustafson said. “This project will help provide outstanding experiences for our theater, choir and band students, in addition to facilitating school- and district-wide events.”

A ribbon-cutting will be held later this fall for the recently expanded Early Education Center. More details will be provided as they are finalized.

KSD residents approved the $44 million zero-tax-rate-increase bond issue on April 5, 2022, to fund a new long-range facilities master plan for the district. Approval of the bond issue did not increase the district’s property tax rate. Prop B bond funds can only be used for capital improvement projects.

The EEC and KHS auditorium were among several Prop B projects that were finished on time as promised this summer. Other completed projects included additional restroom facilities in the sixth-grade wing at Kearney Middle School, and roof replacement and wall repairs at Kearney Junior High.

The EEC roughly doubled in size to take over the entire building that used to be shared with KSD’s central office.

“This significantly enhances our capacity to serve and support our preschool children and their families,” EEC Principal Amy Baugh said. “Demand for these services has soared and we’re excited to welcome those families to a bigger and better EEC!”

The performing arts auditorium at Kearney High School first opened in 1989 and was overdue for an update. Crews extensively renovated the space. That work included the installation of new seating. They also modernized the lighting and sound wiring and equipment to meet current standards.

The post KSD Preparing to Celebrate KHS Auditorium and Expanded EEC appeared first on Early Education Center.