LENS is being phased out at the end of this school year. Founded in 2019 under former Superintendent Bill Nicely, the school’s faculty and students paved the way for Project Based Learning in Kearney School District. It featured engaging, hands-on experiences led by experts like Kearney resident and world-renowned paleoartist Gary Staab. 

LENS served more than 500 students over the years and was a proving ground for many teachers. PBL is now the standard for all of our elementary schools, which means LENS will have a positive impact on every KSD student. 

The celebration was an opportunity for the LENS family to reunite and mark the success of their efforts. Congratulations and thank you to all of them for a job well done!

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Kearney, Mo., January 26, 2024: In alignment with our long-term strategic goals, Kearney School District will begin to phase out the LENS program in the 2024-25 school year by offering programming only to current LENS students entering the fourth and fifth grades. In the 2025-26 school year, all elementary students will be served in their home school.

In 2019, the district implemented LENS as a place-based program that offered a unique instructional approach through project-based learning focused on nature and science. The programming has consistently illustrated the benefits of building critical thinking skills, communication, and collaboration.

“We have seen the value of this instructional model, and it is time to take the next step to implement this model of instruction district-wide for the benefit of all elementary students,” Superintendent Emily Miller said. “Over the last three years, the district has systematically provided elementary teachers with professional development in project-based instruction to implement universally.”

LENS has 127 students this school year and is located in a wing of Kearney Junior High. This transition for the program aligns with the district’s goal to help ensure that we are meeting the educational needs of our K-5 students in neighborhood elementary schools. It will also provide additional space at the junior high school for our secondary programs. LENS teachers and support staff will be transferred to other schools in KSD over the next two years.

We want to acknowledge and thank all of the LENS staff members for their vision and commitment over the last five years to this program, to our students, and to our families. Their hard work will have a positive impact on our entire school system.

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The KHS chapter’s faculty council selected the following new NHS members for meeting high standards of scholarship, service, leadership, and character: 

• Brodyn Baragary
• Lexie Barton 
• Sara Carr
• Kieran Cooper 
• Jolie Conner 
• Ella Conway
• Trenton Fritz 
• Rylee Johnson
• Johnathan Karr 
• Baylee Kuebler
• Savannah McDowell
• Parker Mendel
• Britta Nielson
• Haley Rudder 
• Colin Thomson 
• Ryleigh Van Emmerik
• Caitlyn Wood
• Madelynn Wymore 

“We are very proud to recognize these outstanding members of our student body. National Honor Society members are chosen for and then expected to continue their exemplary contributions to the school and community,” Chapter Advisors Elizabeth Mael and Mendy Salmonson said. 

The NHS ranks as one of the oldest and most prestigious national organizations for high school students. There are chapters in more than 16,000 high schools and, since 1921, millions of students have been selected for membership. Millions of dollars in scholarships have been awarded to senior members since 1945 by the sponsoring organization, the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

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LENS is an immersive learning experience for third, fourth, and fifth graders where student learning is prioritized to include engagement and authenticity. Located in a wing of Kearney Junior High School, LENS includes students from across the school system. Faculty at the school have played an important roll in the district’s focus on Project Based Learning.

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Kearney, Mo., July 14, 2022: Kearney School District is partnering with Fulfillment House to provide an option for families with children entering grades K-5 to purchase their school supplies in a kit to be delivered to classrooms shortly before the beginning of the academic year.

The KSD School Supply Kits initiative expands an effort already started by Parent-Teacher Organization members in the district to make it very convenient for families to get nearly everything their children will need to start school in the fall.

“Families always have a lot to juggle and we want to make the back-to-school process as easy as possible,” Assistant Superintendent for Academic Services Jennifer Kopp said. “We see this as a great opportunity to work with the people at Fulfillment House to help serve our entire community in a really positive way.”

Visit www.ksdr1.net/supplykits today to order KSD School Supply Kits for your children. Click on the drop-down and choose your child’s grade level, school attending, and enter the last and first name of the student. Click “Add to Cart.” Follow this process for each student you choose to purchase supplies for and then proceed to the cart for payment.

The KSD School Supply Kits will include the items listed under each grade level – minus the backpack, earbuds/headphones and optional supplies – included on the 2022-2023 Elementary School Supply Lists.

The number of available kits is limited so that there are adequate supplies for everyone who orders. KSD School Supply Kits will be available for pick-up at your student’s school during the annual back-to-school open house. Elementary school open houses will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18.

The 2022-2023 academic year starts on Tuesday, Aug. 23. Visit www.ksdr1.net/back-to-school for important information and valuable resources to prepare for classes to begin.

The mission of Fulfillment House is to provide meaningful and enriching employment opportunities for adults with special needs. Fulfillment House staff inspire confidence and a greater level of independence for their associates by providing high-quality fulfillment, shipping, warehousing and inventory services to their clients. Learn more at thefulfillmenthouse.org.

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Kearney, Mo., April 28, 2022: It takes a real Bulldog to protect a helpless kitten.

Kearney High School engineering teacher Shane Remley’s students and third-graders at LENS joined forces this month to design and build shelters for stray cats as part of Project Based Learning. Kittens from Ace’s Sanctuary & Cat Rescue visited LENS today to test out the feline homes.

“Our Project Based Learning unit is about natural disasters,” LENS teacher Abby Madison said. “Our driving question is how can we design a home for feral cats to stand up to Kearney weather hazards?”

The furry product testers got plenty of attention from the young designers and engineers at LENS as they scampered around the room. It appeared that the building projects were a big success. The wood houses were then donated to the sanctuary.

MORE PHOTOS: Kitten House Projects at LENS

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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.

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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.

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Kearney, Mo., November 5, 2021: Kearney School District fifth-graders Grant Buhman and Cole Langston became producers so that other community members could be consumers.

In this case, Grant, Cole and their LENS classmates researched their local ecosystem and created educational signage recently installed along the stretch of the Fishing River Trail that winds through KSD’s south campus.

Evenly spaced from the trailhead on East 19th Street and south to Meadowbrook Drive, hand-painted triangle signs and printed flowcharts portray and explain the cycle of life that joggers and walkers can discover in their own backyards.

The project started with a lesson plan by LENS fifth-grade teachers Jamie Luppes and Amber Hiley to teach students about how ecosystems are structured around producers and consumers, according to Grant.

“We researched on our Chromebooks about the ecosystem of the certain area that we got,” Grant said. “Then we would draw out our animals in their natural habitat, and then we transferred that over onto wood and painted it.”

Jaci Berntt stood with two of her classmates in front of their sign on a crisp, overcast Thursday and expounded eloquently about how the American Hornbeam bird helps produce the plant matter eaten by an herbivore Cottontail rabbit, which may, in turn, become fuel for a Barred Owl.

“Everything should work in balance, and it’s happening all around us every day,” she said.

The ecosystem exhibits are an ideal example of the Project Based Learning (PBL) that is the driver of all teaching and learning at LENS, according to Principal Rebecca Parker. As KSD rolls this instructional method out across other schools, the level of educational engagement among the students involved in this project is evidence that PBL works.

“This project is conveying so many important and foundational lessons and skills for our students that go beyond just the primary subject matter,” Dr. Parks said. “They are truly engaged in their learning.”

Dr. Parks’ assessment was reinforced by young Mr. Buhman.

“I feel like you’re out here in the wilderness, sort of, observing what’s happening on the board, instead of just sitting there on the computer. It’s hands-on,” he said. “I have definitely learned more doing it this way than if we were just sitting in a classroom.”

The best part of the project for the students is knowing that their work is going to benefit everyone who uses the trail, according to Cole.

“Everyone should come out here and walk the trail now so that they can learn something new,” he said. “It’s always good to learn something new, and I think this is a really interesting topic.”

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