U.S. News & World Report released its 2023 Best High Schools ranking this week. The U.S. News rankings include data on nearly 25,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The highest-ranked U.S. public schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings are those whose students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading, and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores in an array of college-level exams, and graduated high proportions.

Each school received an overall score (0-100) reflective of a school's performance across the six indicators: College Readiness, College Curriculum Breadth, State Assessment Proficiency, State Assessment Performance, Underserved Student Performance, and Graduation Rate. The overall scores depict how well each school did on a national percentile basis. For example, a school with a score of 60 performed in the 60th percentile among all schools in the rankings.KHS received an overall score of 93.09.

Kings High School ranked in the top 7% of the Nation with a ranking of #1,222. In Ohio, out of 1,011 ranked high schools, KHS ranked #42. Lastly, in the Cincinnati Metro rankings, KHS ranked #13 out of 142 high schools.

Congratulations to the students and all of the staff who have poured into our Knights in a positive way!

In case you missed it, the District has been studying the state of student growth in enrollment and the challenges of overcrowding in our school buildings. Cropper GIS Consulting conducted a capacity and demographic study of our District buildings and also created a building utilization forecast.

The data shows that the majority of our school buildings are over capacity. We are currently assessing the data to better assess our next steps of educating our students in safe and positive learning environment.

Please visit the Facilities Page on our website to review all of the information.

Kings Treasurer, Mike Morrow gave an update on District finances during the Kings Board of Education's August Regular Meeting this week.

Since passing the Operating Levy in 2022, the District has worked hard to continue to be fiscally conservative and good stewards of our taxpayer's money. Morrow highlighted the cost savings and the revenue-generating efforts over the past year.

The efficiencies leading to cost savings include hiring practices, building budget reductions, health insurance savings, three-tier transportation, personnel saving plan (retire/rehire), and utility purchasing. The District has also realized revenue from making sure that all entities are paying their taxes to the District, an increase in state funding due to advocates getting bills signed into law that benefit the District, and increased childcare tuition.

Click here to listen to his presentation.

Below in red are the efficiencies and green are revenue.

New this year at Kings High School is a course called Internship Experience. This course is for seniors only and it allows seniors to intern at least 5 hours per week at an outside business partner.

The Internship class, taught by Carrie Snyder, is an unpaid career experience that provides seniors with the opportunity to explore their career interests by interning with a company or companies. Students will follow their regular course schedule in the morning and travel to an internship site in their area of career interest in the afternoon. Sample placements include accounting, finance, graphic design, engineering, architecture, and medical fields. 

This week, Kings Superintendent, Greg Sears spent two days with the eleven students in the class. Since the students will be entering the workplace soon, he assisted them in doing a self-assessment called the DISC Workplace Profile. The profile helps an individual to discover their work personality. DISC is an acronym, the theory describing personality through four claimed central traits: dominance, influence, steadiness, and compliance.

Sears provided the assessment and facilitated a discussion about the different traits and how they show up in the workplace, the benefits, challenges, and the best ways to deal with each. Says Snyder, "The seniors had a thoughtful and productive discussion about the importance of self-awareness and perception and the role those have in a workplace environment. It created understanding and empathy for other styles as no style is good or bad, just different."

Currently, the businesses supporting the KHS Internship Course are Athletico, ABC Pediatrics, The Monkey Bar, UC West Chester Hospital, Kroger, Salt Run Veterinary Clinic, and the Wright Bros. Airport.

If anyone works with a business that might be interested in hosting students in the future, please contact Matt Freeman at mfreeman@kingslocal.net. We are working on career pathways and internship opportunities to share with the Class of 2025 in time for class scheduling in February. 

The Kings Local School District has partnered with The Talbert House to provide the Alternatives-An Innovative Discipline Approach program. Alternatives is an innovative discipline approach in lieu of suspension/expulsions (reduces the length of suspension) following violations of substance use policies including the use of tobacco and vaping (nicotine); alcohol use and marijuana (THC) intervention are also possible. 

The goal of the program is to provide targeted support and education for students regarding substance use-related topics. Students will discuss how to identify and manage emotions, strengthen social and coping skills, maintain positive social interactions, and learn about the negative impacts of substance use. Alternatives is a tiered program of targeted education and interventions based on the level of the violation. Talbert House Prevention Services is funded by the Mental Health Recovery Board of Warren and Clinton Counties. There is no charge to the family or the school district for the program.

Jennifer Hoffman, BSN, OCPS-RA will be the Tobacco/Vape Intervention Provider for Kings through Talbert House. She will be in our districts on Tuesdays!

DID YOU KNOW?

An e-cigarette that looks exactly like a highlighter is being sold to U.S. retailers, allowing children to smuggle the camouflaged product into schools.

The High Light Office 4 e-cigarette is practically indistinguishable from a highlighter. Its angled, colorful tip makes it look ready for study hall even when uncapped. It provides 4,000 puffs, according to the company’s website, and is available in 20 flavors, from sweet mint to mango.

Teenagers have a specialty for staying one step ahead of the rules, and school resource officers are calling attention to the gargantuan challenge of keeping products like these out of lockers and classrooms. Click for Complete Article

Congratulations to Kings Band student Kaiser Ashby for being the only Bari sax student in the whole State of Ohio to be selected for the Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA) All-State Jazz Band! He will perform with the band in Columbus in early February. Way to go Kaiser!

Four current students and three Kings High School graduates have been selected to participate in the Golden Lion Awards Student Film Festival.

KHS Seniors Brennan Abbott, Keira McCoy, Alexa Escamilla, and Isabella Musolino as well as 2023 graduates, Drew Bloomfield, Reece Wagner, and Isabel York have had their films selected for the festival.

The Cincinnati-based film festival is for all middle school and high school student filmmakers from twelve Midwestern states and surrounding areas to compete and showcase their work. Students enter their work into any of fourteen different categories.

The Golden Lion Awards Student Film Festival will take place on Saturday, September 30 at Memorial Hall in Cincinnati. The top 6 films in each category are recognized and the top 3 will receive awards. Good luck!

The Warren County Career Center is seeking feedback to help guide the career center in developing a 5-year strategic plan. An important component of the plan is capturing input from all stakeholders. WCCC Superintendent, Joel King said, "The more people who participate, the more accurate the data will be.

The survey will take approximately 12 minutes to complete. The survey link will remain active until September 12.

The Kings Kloset is a volunteer-led, nonprofit clothing center that provides free garments and supplies to those in need within the Kings Local School District. On average, the Kings Kloset serves 30-50 individuals a month.

The Kloset is open the first Saturday of every month from 9:00 -11:00 a.m. beginning on September 16. Click here for their schedule. Donations can be dropped off during the Kings Kloset hours. The Kings Kloset is located on the second floor of the Kings Education Center in a new location!

They have very limited space and are only able to take donations that meet the needs of the families they serve. Please refrain from dropping donations at the Kings Education Center. If you have donations, please email kingskloset@kingslocal.net. 

We appreciate your understanding and support in helping us serve the families in our community in the most efficient way.

Pictured is volunteer Emily Robinson getting the space organized and ready for the first opening.

You can manage your students' pay accounts on PaySchoolsCentral. Here you have the ability to pay your student's school fees and add funds to your student's meal account.

If your family is in need of assistance with meals and school fees, we encourage you to complete a Free and Reduced Meal Application by visiting https://payschoolscentral.com or pick up an application at your student's school building.

If you need assistance, parents will have direct access to a Help Hotline at 1-877-393-6628, where language services will be available for our ESL families. 

Any additional questions can be directed to Jennifer Arlinghaus, Food Service Director 513-398-8050 ext 10027.

Kings High School hosts two Hoxworth Blood Drives per school year. The first one of the 23-24 school year is coming up very soon. The Kings High School/Jorge Gonzalez Memorial Hoxworth Blood Drive is scheduled for Wednesday, September 6 from 10:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Donations will take place in the KJH Multi-Purpose Room. New this year, all donors will receive a donor gift of a Hero Mode sweatshirt at the time of donation.

In October 2021, we lost an incredible teacher, colleague, and friend to covid. His name is Jorge Gonzalez. He was a Kings High School Spanish teacher and very passionate about life-saving blood donation. Jorge started coordinating Hoxworth Blood Drives in January 2004 and hosted his last one in September 2021. Under his coordination, the drives collected 1262 units of blood; the potential to save the lives of more than 3786 patients - that’s LEGACY! Let's continue Jorge's legacy by donating blood to save lives.

SIGN UP HERE!

The Kings Local School District is still seeking members to join our team! The following positions are ready to fill!

• Before and After School Childcare and Paraprofessionals
• Substitute Teachers and Building Subs
• Substitute Nurses
• Bus Drivers & Bus Subs
• Food Service Substitutes

If you are interested or know someone who may be interested, please contact Tim Spinner at tspinner@kingslocal.net.

Board Members

Kings Board of Education (L-R): Janelle Groff, Board Member; John Skerl, Board Member; Deb Cowan, Board Member; Stacie Belfrom, President; and Peggy Phillips, Vice-President.

The Board of Education meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month for a Work Session at 5:30 p.m. and the 3rd Tuesday of every month for a Regular Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Visit the Board of Education page on our website for meeting dates, meeting recordings, and agendas.

All meetings are live-streamed on the Kings Youtube channel.

If you are looking to purchase Kings Spiritwear, visit the Kings Online Spiritwear Store provided by our partner ROKKITWEAR. All items will be printed and sent out within 5 business days! You can also personalize any item in the store!

Keep in touch with all things Kings Spiritwear by following our Facebook page!

In an effort to be "green," the District does not send paper flyers home. We use a platform called Peachjar that houses flyers of community programs and resources. 

Parents receive approved flyers via email, and they are posted on our digital flyerboard for easy retrieval. Any organization can distribute information to our community by creating an account!

In case you don't follow us on social media, you missed some great content.

Purchase your 2023-2024 season passes online for all HOME (non-tournament) Jr High and HS events. You can purchase a family all-sport passes, an adult all-sports pass, a student/senior citizen all-sports pass, and 10 game pass. 

The ECC Conference has increased admission fees for games this year. All High School Games are $10 for football games (adults and students), $8 for all other sports for adults, and $5 for students and seniors. JH admission is $5 for football (adults and students), $5 for all other sports for adults, and $2 for other sports for students and seniors. What a great reason to purchase a season pass! Pricing is below. Season passes can be purchased- https://kingsathletics.com/event-tickets

We also encourage you to visit www.kingsathletics.com to see the latest updates for Knights Athletics and see team schedules. 

Kings Basketball Association is now accepting registrations for the upcoming winter season.

Girls and boys in grades 2-6 are invited to participate. Over 450 kids from the District participated last season which was a new record.

Click here for more information.