Dear Knob Noster Parents and Community:
As 2019 comes to an end, we want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your support of Knob Noster Public Schools, our students, and our team. Through your support and partnership, 2019 has been another standout year for our school and our community. Provided below is a year-in-review “Top 10 List” of accomplishments of Knob Noster Public Schools. Our students, teachers, and Board of Education continue to prove that KNPS is emerging as a national leader when it comes to K-12 education. We are very proud to share the following list of select accomplishments that you have helped our students achieve!
10. Community and parent involvement continues to strengthen! We continue to see significant increases in participation in school events in all areas of our academic program. Research shows that parent involvement is a top correlate to student success. We appreciate and value your engagement and thank you for making 2019 a year of fantastic engagement and partnership to support our students!
9. Sports and extracurricular activities continue to strengthen in Knob Noster. Along with a number of individual state championships and state and national placements in FCCLA, wrestling, FBLA, choir, band, FFA, track, AFJROTC, robotics, and cross country, our Knob Noster Marching Band and Flags produced arguably its best ever year, bringing home a number of first place finishes in several major events. In addition, the Knob Noster Panther Football Program posted its best season in a quarter century. Overall, our programs are strengthening across the board as a result of strong student and faculty leadership, hard work, and performance!
8. Academic Achievement has consistently ranked at or near the top of the region over the last five years. This year, the district saw even stronger performances in a number of academic areas spanning all grades and subjects. Most notably, Knob Noster High School students posting the strongest Composite ACT score in the last decade...a strong indicator for career and college success!
7. Financially, Knob Noster Public Schools continues to offer an exemplary return on investment for our taxpayers. In 2019, the district spent more on direct instruction than ever before while simultaneously securing the largest reserve fund balances in school history, the majority of which is being held in reserve for future capital projects. The district produced another clean audit for 2019, with notable enhancements to operational practices. All of this was accomplished with the lowest K-12 public school tax levy in the region...a tax rate 50% lower than most others in our region.
6. Knob Noster’s STEM2 (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math & Manufacturing) programs continue to emerge as defining elements of our academic program. This year, the district introduced FIRST Tech Challenge while enhancing cybersecurity and computer science offerings. The district further embedded STEM and Robotics in our elementary grades through a DODEA grant, ensuring 100% of our students are exposed to these career pathways at an early age. Currently, our two AF JROTC cyber teams are ranked #1 and #2 in Missouri and are among the top 5% in the nation. Our robotics programs continue to produce state and national caliber teams. Our aviation programs produced two private pilots this year, while also producing many drone and ground school program completers.
5. Employee compensation increases were a point of pride in 2019, with the Board of Education approving the most aggressive wage increases in a decade while also significantly enhancing the health program and benefits offered to our team. Similarly, the district invested in a week-long, fully-compensated, summer professional development institute for our teachers and instructional staff. Our teachers commented that it was among the best training they have received.
4. Knob Noster Public Schools continues to strengthen its local, state, and national profile as a leader in public education. In 2019, the district was profiled in/by: Forbes Magazine, Education Week, Association of Defense Communities, National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, Military Impacted Schools Association, Missouri School Boards Association, Military Child Education Coalition, Air University – Air War College, Strategic Deterrent Coalition and Project Lead the Way, among many others. In an era where partnerships are the keystone for securing new educational opportunities for students, the future looks promising and bright for Knob Noster.
3. For the second time in the last three years, Knob Noster Public Schools was awarded the prestigious General Pete Taylor National Partnership of Excellence Award from the Military Child Education Coalition. This award represents the ongoing, strong, and outcomes-oriented partnership that has developed between Knob Noster Public Schools and Whiteman Air Force Base. Military leadership continues to state that the quality of K-12 education is the #1 mission readiness and #1 quality of life issue for our Armed Services. At Whiteman AFB, the mission continues to strengthen!
2. Of over 600 high schools in Missouri, U.S. News and World Report ranked Knob Noster High School as the # 1 rural and #1 small high school in Missouri for 2019 as a result of their strong academic performance, focus on career education, and graduation rate. Knob Noster High School enrollment grew to over 400 this year, with an additional 100 students from Warrensburg and LaMonte being served through its TRIAD AF JROTC program.
1. Above all other goals, Knob Noster Public Schools seeks to develop quality character, citizenship, and patriotism in our students, with this effort being championed through our Panthers R.O.C.K character program and The Leader In Me program. In 2019, our students lived these values in many ways, most notably through giving back through over 30 charitable fundraiser events to support various community agencies and individual needs. Countless service activities also occurred throughout the year. We send a HUGE thank you to our students for living out the most important element of our school mission!
As 2019 winds down, we again want to thank you for your partnership in helping these accomplishments, and many others, happen for our students! From the Knob Noster Panther Family to yours, we wish you and your family the best of health, happiness, and prosperity in 2020 and we look forward to our ongoing service to you!
Knob Noster Public Schools – Our Mission Is Student Success!
Very Respectfully,
Jerrod Wheeler, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools