Students from Kirkwood High School’s Innovation Center hosted a Diaper Drive for the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank in downtown St. Louis. During the month of November, the group of 40 juniors, led by eight students in the leadership council group, visited homeroom classrooms and collected spare change from students and staff along with donated diapers. The group collected $1,090.08 in cash and 1,700 diapers. On November 25, the group of students and several KHS staff members dropped off KHS contributions and donated over four hours of time working to pack the diapers, making care notes for recipients of the donations and help with other tasks to get to donations out to families. The group wrapped and packages over 23,400 diapers which will assist 468 families.
The search for the next leader of the Kirkwood School District is underway as Superintendent Michele Condon announced her retirement at the end of the current school year. “I’ve been so blessed to serve students for thirty-nine years as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. After much reflection, I have decided it is time to dedicate my time to my family. I thank the Board of Education for allowing me the opportunity to return from retirement to help lead and serve the students, families, staff, and community for three years. I will always have a place in my heart for the Kirkwood School District,” said Dr. Condon. Board of Education members met with Dr. Brent Underwood of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, who is facilitating a comprehensive national search for the position of Superintendent of Schools. The position will be posted until January 6, 2020, and the Board will make a decision in early March. “We are confident Dr. Underwood’s nine years as a superintendent along with his eleven years conducting superintendent searches, especially recent searches for Districts such as Brentwood, Ladue, Lindbergh, Mehlville, Rockwood, and Valley Park, will ensure an extensive and comprehensive search is conducted,” said Board President Darnel Frost. Dr. Underwood will facilitate staff, parents, and community focus groups and an online survey to assist in the development of a leadership profile that contains the qualities, skills, and characteristics desired for the next superintendent of the Kirkwood School District. Families and Community Members are invited to a focus group: Monday, December 9 from 6 to 7 pm in the Library of North Kirkwood Middle School. You are invited to fill out the MSBA Leadership Qualities Survey for the KSD Superintendent position. The goal is to prioritize the leadership qualities desired by our new superintendent at this specific point in time. The survey will be open until Monday, December 16, 2019 at the end of the day.
Dr. Leigh Mincks, art teacher at North Kirkwood Middle School and Mrs. Kim Powell, art teacher at Kirkwood high School, have been named the Missouri Art Education Association Art Educator of the Year. Mincks was awarded the Middle School Art Educator of the Year, and Powell was named the Secondary Art Educator of the Year.
During the November 18, 2019 Kirkwood School District Board of Education meeting, the board recognized eight seniors who were named National Merit Semifinalists and National Merit Commended Students. Pictured left to right bottom row: Gillis Lowry, Madeleine Bartin and Benjamin Wilton. Back row: Senior principal Jeff Townsend, Ethan Peter, Grace Williams, Evan Richmond, Raiden DeKoter, Nathan Demetri.
KSD schools honored veterans at various events on Monday, November 11. North Kirkwood Middle School conducted a tribute to veterans in the library. Kirkwood High School welcomed veterans into social studies classrooms where vets shared their military experiences with students. All elementary schools held events and welcomed veterans. Students paid tribute to veterans through singing songs, reading poems, and writing personalized cards.
The College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation partnered with the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to recognize teachers through the CFP Foundation's Extra Yard for Teachers platform this season. The SEC worked with its 14 institutions to identify student-athletes from eight different sports who have had a teacher that greatly impacted his or her life. Each of the educators were honored through a testimonial by the respective student-athlete aired on SEC Nation, the SEC Network's traveling pregame show. In addition, the elementary, middle and high schools being recognized as part of the program will receive a $10,000 grant from the CFP Foundation and the SEC to use towards the purchase of classroom supplies and materials through Donorschoose.org. Jordan Roundtree, KHS ’16, nominated Romona Miller, Kirkwood High School (KHS) Assistant Principal Pioneer Pathways. Jordan is now a junior at University of Missouri-Columbia (MU), and guard for the women’s basketball team. Last season, she appeared in all 35 games and averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. In speaking about Miller, Jordan shared how Miller set her up for success at KHS. “She really took me under her wing when I was new at KHS,” said Jordan. “She made sure I had a place to eat, she made sure I had friends, and that I got accustomed to the new school. She was just always someone I go to whether in school or out of school to make sure I had an amazing time at Kirkwood High School.” Miller has served as a teacher and administrator for KHS for 27 years. She plans to use the $10,000 grant toward enhancing experiences in Pioneer Pathways, especially in the area of Science which was Miller’s content area prior to becoming an administrator.
Westchester Elementary School in the Kirkwood School District (KSD) received the Missouri Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) Gold Award of Recognition. The award recognizes schools that successfully adopt and implement SW-PBS, a comprehensive approach for improving student behavior and academic performance. Schools are awarded a recognition level (gold, silver or bronze), which represents the extent of their implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support strategies and the evidence they have compiled about the initiative’s impact in their school. At a recent Special School District Governing Council meeting, Westchester principal Bo Ricker and Kirkwood School District board member Julie Backer were presented a framed certificate. Westchester is one of a select few schools in the county who have won state recognition for at least 10 years. Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support is a systematic approach to creating safer and more effective schools by structuring the learning environment to support the academic and social success of all students. It focuses on data-based decision-making, encouraging positive student behavior, preventing disruptive behavior and tailoring academic strategies to individual student needs.
The Kirkwood High School (KHS) 2019 graduates posted an average of 24.4 on the ACT college entrance exam, a bump from 24.0 the year before. Students made gains in English, Math and Reading.
The Kirkwood School District (KSD) celebrated the outstanding achievements of Kirkwood High School (KHS) graduates and KHS supporters October 18 and 19 during a full weekend of events to celebrate the Outstanding Hall Alumni Hall of Fame and Pioneer Award. On Friday, October 18, inductees were invited to KHS to connect with current students. The inductees shared their stories and professional journeys with students in classes from the field with which is appropriate to their field of study. Inductees that attended included Sterling Coleman, Dr. Reates Curry, Dr. Tricia Ashton Derges, Jane E. Drichta, Bill Freivogel, Margaret Freivogel, Jennifer Ouellette, Dr. Timothy Taft, Adam York, Rick Stream and Wallace Ward. On Saturday, the group convened in the Walker Commons for a pre-event reception before entering the Keating Theatre for the Outstanding Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
On Wednesday, October 16, hundreds of Kirkwood School District (KSD) students participated in the fourth annual Unified Night Lights unified flag football event. The inaugural event was held in September 2016. The event recreates the excitement of a traditional football game. Hundreds of students, with and without disabilities, came together. The philosophy behind the event is that sports help provide a path to friendships and understanding and help break down barriers. Students stormed the field, cheered from the track, and played instruments from the pep band section in the bleachers.
Students at Westchester Elementary (WE) School in the Kirkwood School District learned in and from the trees on Wednesday, September 25 as part of the Kirkwood Urban Forestry Commission Jr. Tree Keeper program. WE students traveled to Kirkwood Park to learn from representatives from the Kirkwood Urban Forestry Commission. The students rotated through stations and participated in a variety of experiences including tree identification, tree planting, and tree climbing safety.
