What Makes K-W Great in 2019-2020!
As we prepared for the launch of our new website two years ago, the concept of a Twitter hashtag emerged. Staff and community members spontaneously responded to the trial run of #whatmakesKWgreat by tweeting out their positive observations about our school district. This simple idea has taken off since then. It is now the source of the dynamic updates on our homepage. It tells the story of how we strive every day to be a model, rural school district.
"What makes K-W great!" is an exclamation, not a question. While the trend across the country is to try to make big schools act more like small ones, we already have that mastered. Technically, the Kenyon-Wanamingo Public Schools offer overlapping layers of bonding social capital. In simpler terms, our students have the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive range of curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities with very few restrictions. If a K-W student wishes to take a class, join a team, or participate in an activity they can. A K-W student will regularly see their peers, school staff, and community members in multiple settings, which adds value to their educational experience.
Layers of positive relationships make K-W great! We are the Knights and we have blended Kenyon, Wanamingo, and parts of the surrounding area into a culture that is symbolically represented by the traditional strengths displayed within a Knighthood. A Knight is not gender specific. Knights learn from their adult and upper classman role models about the core values of respect and service to others. Our Knights strive to be the best that they can be. They take pride in their school, their community, and they are held to high standards.
Here are just a few examples from the 2018-2019 school year that demonstrate the merit of our approach to personalized, comprehensive education:
- 97% average on-time high school graduation rate over the past four years.
- 100% participation of eligible students in postsecondary placement tests.
- A 22.3 composite ACT score for the Junior Class exceeds the state average.
- Significant closing of achievement gaps in math and reading as measured by standardized tests.
- State Class A Team Wrestling Tournament - 2nd Place Team, 5 individual medals,
and 3 individual state champions.
- State Class AA Team Volleyball Tournament qualifiers.
- All-State Band recognition for 2 K-W students.
- All-State Choir recognition for 2 K-W students.
- Minnesota State Fair - FFA Overall Premier Exhibiting Chapter.
- Regional Robotics Competition - 22nd place out of 60 competitors.
- FCCLA State Conference - 7 Gold Medal Winners.
- MSU - Mankato Engineering Machine Design Contest, 3rd and 4th Place Teams.
- Junior High Knowledge Bowl Regional - 2nd & 6th Place Team.
It's a New Day for the Knights as we kick off the 2019-2020 school year! The Wanamingo site has fully completed a baseball/softball complex with four excellent fields. The elementary school has a restored historic gym along with new music and art rooms, plus a learning lounge. Both the Wanamingo and Kenyon sites have amazing new early childhood activity centers that have all of the little tykes fired up.
Kenyon will dedicate a remodeled football field in August along with a brand new track and field facility. That campus also has added new welcoming and secure entrances on the west and east side. The new field house complex adds five more gym floors, a fitness center, training room, and completely renovated locker rooms and a performing arts green room. The auditorium has been enhanced and the Grades 5-6 home area is now dressed up to create a modern learning environment.
Our community has invested in excellent facilities that create opportunities for all ages, including adults. The schools and their programs are the heartbeat of hometown life. We encourage you to visit our schools to see what makes K-W great!