Kickapoo High School (Springfield, Missouri)

Kickapoo High School
Established 1971
Type US Public Secondary
Principal Kelly Allison
Students 2,100[1]
Grades 9–12
Location Springfield, Missouri, USA
Coordinates 37°08′48″N 93°17′25″W / 37.14654°N 93.29018°WCoordinates: 37°08′48″N 93°17′25″W / 37.14654°N 93.29018°W
Campus Closed
Colors Gold and Brown
Mascot Chief
Website kickapoo.spsk12.org/pages/khs

Kickapoo High School is a high school in Springfield, Missouri. Kickapoo officially opened its doors in October 1971, the fifth of Springfield's five high schools. When Kickapoo was first established the construction had not completed so at the start of classes the students of Kickapoo split shifts at cross-town rival Glendale for about six weeks, with Glendale's students going to classes from 6 a.m. until noon, and Kickapoo's using the Glendale campus from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. It is named "Kickapoo" after its location in a part of Springfield known as the "Kickapoo Prairie" and after the Native American Tribe. The School's mascot is the "Kickapoo Chief". In 2014 it had about 2,100 students and 100 teachers,[2] making Kickapoo the largest of the five high schools in Springfield.

Academics

Kickapoo 's characteristics include: Honors, Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement courses, an Orthopedically Handicapped Program, a Learning Resource and a Japanese language program. Kickapoo also participates in a program known as A+, in which students must maintain a 3.5 GPA and complete a certain number of service hours, most of which are completed through peer tutoring. Students who successfully complete the A+ program automatically get a free two-year scholarship to a two-year college in the state.

Journalism

PN Media is a student produced news organization on the campus of Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri. The flagship paper, The Prairie News, has been published since the school opened in 1971.

In 2008 the program underwent a major revision when the paper was renamed 'PN Media'. In May 2009 KHS Prairie News was launched to provide Kickapoo students with a more up to date news source. PN Media overhauled the site in the fall of 2009.

The Prairie News. The paper has also undergone a large redesign, moving from an 8.5" by 11" format to a full broadsheet newsprint paper featuring large color sections. The paper is also available online in a non-interactive PDF format.

In recent years, the Journalism Department switched its publication to a full color magazine dubbed the "KHQ" standing for "Kickapoo High Quarterly."

Kickapoo is also host of the ChiefTV Network is a student produced broadcast journalism group, which produces video announcements on a daily basis.

Mandatory ID Badges

Kickapoo makes use of mandatory identification badges for all students and staff to prevent unauthorized entry into the Kickapoo. The ID badges as well as school-wide video surveillance were introduced following a series of nationwide school shootings in the late 1990s.

The I.D. badges have a bar code built into them that allow for their use for direct access to a student's lunch account. The I.D. badge can also be scanned to check out books as well as if a student is tardy. If a student pays a fee, a stadium icon will be put on their badge allowing them access to some sporting events without having to buy a ticket.

A red portion of the badge bordering the bar code means a student it a freshman, blue means a sophomore, green means junior, and gold means the student is a senior.

Freshman Mentoring System

At the end of each year, Sophomores and Juniors have the opportunity to apply for the Freshman mentoring system. These students are charged with assimilating small groups of freshmen into the school culture. They also assign rudimentary study skill and research tasks to all freshmen. This program takes place during Chief Time.

Status System

At the conclusion of the 2009/2010 school year, the "Brave," "Warrior," and "Chief" status was dropped. The only rank now available is "Chief" and is provided only to Freshman Mentors. The "Chief" icon on the I.D. badge serves as a paperless hall pass and allows students to leave class/school two to three minutes early.

School Schedule

Block System

The school schedule is a four block system: Each day, students have four classes around 95 minutes each in length. The semester is 18 weeks long. In one school year, students have completed the equivalent of eight year-long classes.

Chief Time

The 2004/2005 school year saw the introduction of a program called 'Chief Time.' In the 2011/2012 School year, the Chief Time schedule was changed to include 35 minutes in each class throughout the week. First block classes on Monday, Second on Tuesday, Third on Wednesday, Fourth on Thursday. Students are allowed to do different things during this block, (excluding Wednesday because of the lunch periods and Friday due to Late Start) depending on their grade and academic status. During the second semester of the 2013/2014 school year, a change to the previous order of the blocks in which the chief time occurred was made. Instead of Chief Time being in first block on Mondays, it happened in fourth block, and so on.

Students with extreme academic issues can be assigned to a Chief Time class where they receive tutoring for the duration of Chief Time.

Late Start

On Fridays, school starts at 8:20, rather than 7:50. This adds time for detention on Friday mornings as well as time to make up tests. This also creates time in the morning for groups of teachers to meet for Collaboration, a meeting when teachers from the same department review their learning goals and revise them as needed.

Camp Barnabas Fundraising

During the 2006/2007 school year, there were two fundraisers for an organization called Camp Barnabas.[3] Between the two, about $4,000 was raised. An unidentified corporate donor matched that amount for a total donation of around $8,000.

Stop the Bop

Kickapoo adopted the Stop The Bop[4] fundraiser from a Pennsylvania school. The Hanson song MMMBop was played between classes until the student body donated $2,000.

Spirit Shirts

Kickapoo's name has led to the making of a number of creative spirit shirts sold to the students. The most widely known of these being the famous "Fear the 'Poo" shirts in both brown and gold. The 2007/2008 shirt reads "Smoke the Totem Pole," which depicts Kickapoo at the top of a totem pole, followed by Hillcrest, Parkview, Central, and at the bottom, Glendale: Kickapoo's biggest rival. Some shirts feature a camouflage design with "Fear the Poo" on them. This represents going to battle against rival Glendale. Several shirts make a clever pun on the fact that the school's name has the word "Poo" in it, e.g. "Flushing the Competition Since 1972".

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "SPS - Kickapoo High School". Springfield Public Schools. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "SPS - Kickapoo High School". Springfield Public Schools. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  3. ↑ 'Stop The Bop' To Raise Katrina $$ cbsnews.com. URL Accessed May 17, 2007.
  4. ↑ Camp Barnabas Home Page campbarnabas.org. URL Accessed May 17, 2007.
  5. ↑ Sterling Macer Jr

External links