• 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 Kearney School District.

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 Kearney School District.

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 Kearney School District.

Kearney, Mo., June 2, 2022: Kearney School District is welcoming home one of its own and lifting one of its own up into new leadership positions.

The KSD Board of Education formally approved the appointment of Dr. Amy Baugh as the Principal of the Early Education Center (EEC) on May 18.

Kearney Elementary School Principal Mitch Masker currently splits a portion of his time at the EEC. Dr. Baugh’s arrival will allow both buildings to have fully dedicated administrators.

“I’m very pleased that Dr. Baugh is joining our team of school leaders,” Interim Superintendent Todd White said. “She has outstanding experience and skills, and she already loves the Kearney community. This is a great addition and we’re all excited to see her take our early education program to the next level.”

Baugh earned two bachelor’s degrees from Northwest Missouri State University, a master’s degree from the University of Missouri and an Ed.D. in leadership and learning from Aspen University. She started her public education career as a special education teacher for nearly five years in KSD.

“I am honored to have this opportunity to serve the staff, students and parents of the Kearney Early Education Center and the greater district community,” Dr. Baugh said. “I feel tremendously blessed to be returning to the district I remember so fondly as the foundation of my career in education.”

She spent five years focused on teaching students with autism in Park Hill School District before becoming a Process Coordinator for Smithville School District in 2017. That job demands mastery of a wide range of complex procedures, rules and regulations generally related to providing services for students who need special education or who are considered at-risk. This experience will be particularly important at the EEC, where the Acorn Patch program includes many students who qualify for those types of services. Baugh’s work in Smithville earned her the school district’s 2021 Excellence in Support of Education Award.

“This position is a dream for me,” Baugh said. “It combines my years of experience in special education with my passion for supporting staff and students to achieve their goals.”

The school board also approved the selection of Brian Webster as the new Assistant Principal for Kearney Middle School. Mr. Webster is currently a sixth-grade math teacher at KMS, a position he’s held for more than 15 years. Before that, he taught science at the school. He spent the first two years of his career as a fifth-grade teacher in Excelsior Springs School District.

“Brian will be able to hit the ground running as our new assistant principal because he’s already a part of the KMS team,” Principal Bart Woods said. “He’s got great relationships with our students, families and staff.”

Current KMS Assistant Principal Erek Noland was recently tapped for the new Director of Operations position. After about two decades in classrooms at KMS, Webster felt fully prepared for the shift to school leadership.

“At this point in my career, I felt the time was right for me to transition into an administrative role,” Webster said. “For this leadership role to occur at Kearney Middle School is an amazing opportunity since I have spent the majority of my career at the middle school level in Kearney.”

Webster earned his bachelor’s degree from William Jewell College, a Master of Education Administration from Park University and an advanced specialist degree from Northwest Missouri State University.

The post A Bulldog Comes Back to Lead Early Education Center appeared first on Kearney School District.

Kearney, Mo., March 28, 2022:  Kearney School District is ready to celebrate the very best of Team Bulldogs.

The following KSD staff members have been selected to receive 2022 Teacher of the Year Awards or Support Staff of the Year Awards for their schools:

2022 Teacher of the Year Awards

• Dogwood Elementary School – Cami Aebersold (Counselor)
• Hawthorne Elementary School – Amanda Timmer (Dynamic Learning Center Teacher)
• Kearney Elementary School – Beth Pickle (Second Grade)
• Southview Elementary School/LENS – Danica Ballard (Kindergarten at Southview)
• Kearney Middle School – Brad Wollard (Math)
• Kearney Junior High School – Tanner Wendel (Special Education)
• Kearney High School – Dustin McKinney (Vocal Music)
• Kearney Early Education Center – Sara Woods (Early Childhood Special Education)

2022 Support Staff of the Year Awards

• Dogwood Elementary School – John “Rocky” Holsten (Custodian)
• Hawthorne Elementary School – Syndee Johnson (Paraprofessional)
• Kearney Elementary School – Lori Walker (Nurse)
• Southview Elementary School/LENS – Kim Watkins (Nurse)
• Kearney Middle School – Candice Walker (Nurse)
• Kearney Junior High School – Kim Evans (Administrative Assistant)
• Kearney High School – Melissa Stokes (Nurse)
• Central Office – Doug Sublett (Facilities Manager)

This year’s award recipients were selected by their co-workers and school leaders from a list of nominees submitted by students, parents/guardians and community members. The award selections were based on the nominee’s excellence in service to students, parents/guardians, co-workers and the community.

All of KSD’s school-level award recipients will be recognized during the Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Education Banquet on Tuesday, April 26 at the KCI Expo Center.

“Our school staff members are world-class across the board, so these award recipients truly represent the best of the best,” Interim Superintendent Todd White said. “We are grateful for their extraordinary service on behalf of our students and families, and we ask the entire community to join us in celebrating these public educators.”

The 2022 school-level award recipients are now in consideration for the district-level Teacher of the Year and Support Staff of the Year awards. KSD will announce those honorees on Friday, April 1, along with the Volunteer of the Year and Business Partner of the Year award winners.

The post KSD Announces 2022 Teacher and Support Staff Awards for Schools appeared first on Kearney School District.

Kearney, Mo., March 7, 2022: Kearney School District early education and elementary families are invited to celebrate spring and plant the seeds of success for our students during our “Spring into Reading” event from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 24 at Southview Elementary and Kearney Junior High School!

This special event will feature reading games, a performance by Mr. Stinky Feet, a magician, prizes, food for purchase and more.

Support for “Spring into Reading” is being provided by the Pamela Bier Memorial Fund, which is administered by the KSD Education Foundation.

The post ‘Spring into Reading’ with Kearney School District appeared first on Kearney School District.

Kearney, Mo., November 2, 2021: Real World Learning starts really early in Kearney School District.

Members of Kearney Fire & Rescue Protection District’s (KFRPD) Shift-A took time today to visit with students and staff at the KSD Early Education Center (EEC). The event was an opportunity to talk about fire safety and the work KFRPD staff do every day to protect the community.

EEC students and staff fanned out in a semicircle across the floor of the large, open Soper Board Room while Firefighter/EMT Bryan Kipping and Captain Sean Gudde demonstrated the steps they have to take every time there is an emergency call to their station.

Capt. Gudde donned his entire set of gear, including the breathing apparatus, then crawled on his hands and knees to show how firefighters often have to work their way through burning buildings.

“Who knows what you’re supposed to do when there is a fire?” Mr. Kipping asked, followed by a chorus of responses. “That’s right! Get down and get out!”

Mitch Masker supervises Forest Friends and Acorn Patch, the two main early education programs housed in the EEC. These types of visits by public service agencies like the fire department are valuable for multiple reasons, he said.

“We can just talk about fire safety and public service or we can actually get the experts here to interact with the students,” Mr. Masker said. “This is where Real World Learning begins in KSD. These students are totally engaged and many will remember this for the rest of their lives.”

Later, Kipping and Gudde led the students outside to examine one of the station’s trucks. Another firefighter took time to describe to a group of wide-eyed kids the different controls and tools that they use.

“We love visiting schools like this because we know that we’ve got to start getting these lessons across to our children at a very young age,” Kipping said. “Safety has to start from day one, and who knows which of these kids will grow up to become a firefighter and take on that mission. We’re planting those seeds today.”

The Acorn Patch offers children ages 3-5 with developmental delays the chance to reach their potential in the important early years of childhood, giving them a jump-start on the rest of their education. Forest Friends is a preschool class with admission based on a developmental screening, family needs, and other factors. Visit eec.ksdr1.net to learn more about the early education programs in KSD.

The post Kearney Firefighters Visit Early Education Center appeared first on Kearney School District.