By Mark Tallman

The second day of my tour of six districts with high success rates in North Central Kansas ended in Republic County USD 109 at the high school in Belleville, where I met with Board President Brent Martin, Superintendent Tami Knedler and her district leadership team. 

Like the other districts on this area tour, Republic County has significantly higher results in getting students to graduate and go on to postsecondary success than the predicted levels, considering its enrollment size and percentage of high-needs students. 

Both Martin, in hospital administration, who has lived in the community for 20 years, and Knedler, in her first year leading the district, credit their community for part of that success. “People here are pretty invested, and they feel responsible," said Knedler. “If a kid doesn’t cross that stage, it's not just the kid’s responsibility or the school’s responsibility. The community says: what did we need to do? That's at least a theme I've heard.” 

But the results didn’t just happen. District leaders say there has been an emphasis on meeting the needs of students who haven’t been successful in the past.  

“Leadership is when kids aren't fitting the mold of the group, we put the energy in their value as an individual,” said Martin. “We designed programs that I think brought those kids along, and we've always had staff and administration who recognize that and are willing to step up on behalf of one kid for what that one kid needs.” 

Like Washington County, which I visited the day before, Republic County Junior/Senior High School said it noticed more students were falling behind in the progress of graduating. The school instituted a program called “BUFFS – Better Us For Future Success” (after the school mascot, the Buffaloes). While the program has evolved, it has several components. First, students can make up missed high school credits online while continuing to take other classes, so they can continue to take courses that interest them. 

Second, the school used the schedule and staff to make sure every student has a support team to provide individualized attention and engagement. Principal Alan Sheets (owner of the local Dairy Queen, which met a lot of my dining needs while in the area and I highly recommend) and other educators cited examples of several students struggling with school at least in part due to personal, family and financial issues, but who with flexibility and encouragement were able to earn credits to graduate – an extra challenge because Republic County normally requires 26 units. “We have caring adults assigned to work with each kid, not just as a teacher but as someone to check their progress, give them support,” said Sheets. 

Finally, the district has worked to give kids more options that interest them. Staff told me the biggest single barrier to graduation for most students is not ability but simply feeling the need to attend school, so the district has placed more emphasis on career planning and tried to broaden its curriculum. 

Like every district showing secondary success I visited, Republic County has also worked to improve education in the lower grades, including expanding early childhood opportunities, strengthening its interventions when students are struggling in some area, and setting aside time each week for career counseling and social and emotional education in the face increasing students need around mental health and behavior. 

As a healthcare leader, board president Martin says a critical challenge has been the rise in mental health issues in the community. “When we’ve done community need surveys over the years, housing is always there, daycare is always there, but mental health has really risen to the top,” he said. “We recently formed a mental health coalition with our health department, hospital, schools, and state agencies that are not in Republic County but give resources to Republic County. We do fundraising together and work together on grants. The school district has also added counselors to help with mental health issues.” 

Bright Idea: While some high schools have tried and abandoned efforts to require a “senior project” as a graduation requirement, three years ago Republic County adopted a similar project requirement with a twist: it is linked to a career.  

“Kids pick a topic, pick a career, and pick a problem within that area. They do research and present ideas on how to address it,” said high school math teacher John Baxa, who had previous experience with senior projects in other districts. “They work with one or more mentors who are professionals in the field or sometimes college professors in the field. It’s been really beneficial for the kids to develop those networking skills, so they already have some connections. I think that soft skills development is essential, and that is what a senior project requires.” 

Despite some initial concerns, Baxa says the idea has been embraced by students, families, and the community after leading to college scholarships, internships and student-run businesses. Students have used the project to explore everything from drone piloting to social media for the Kansas State University football team, to local law enforcement. “And for some kids,” said Baxa, “it isn't so much about being financially successful or college accessible. It's that they simply learn to talk to another human being, outside of school and outside of their comfort zone.” 

District Profile: With 519 students, Republic County is among the smallest districts in the 500-1,600 group, and about 4% above the state average, with 72.2% low-income and students with disabilities. It’s postsecondary effective rate of 60% is nearly 10% higher than the predicted rate of 50.1 percent for its size and high needs students' percentage. Since 2015, the graduation rate increased by 8.1 percent, 7.2 7.2 percent more than predicted. (Republic County’s 2022 state test results were nearly 4% than predicted, but the change in tests results was about 3% less than predicted, and its graduation rate of 92.5% was nearly two percent higher than predicted.)