King Middle School students honored; principal highlights counseling supports and district programs

King Middle School and district staff presented student recognitions and program updates to the Mercer County Board of Education during the board's meeting at King Middle School.

The board recognized 'Dairy Queen Superior Titan' winners and named award recipients from each school level: elementary second grader Andrew Boggs; intermediate winner Chelsea Watts; King Middle School winner Kayla Reedy; and senior-high winner Trevor Ellis. The board also acknowledged intermediate academic team members who placed second at district competition and will advance to regionals; several students were named by staff.

Principal remarks focused on instructional supports and social-emotional learning. The principal said the district has completed more than 1,000 classroom visits this school year to observe and promote instructional best practices and discussed efforts to move the school from partial improvement toward a goal of achieving full 'green' status on state performance measures. He emphasized the role of school counselors (Hillary Chief and Kristen Hammer) and district social worker Lee Dunn, describing small-group interventions and a one-on-one check-in/check-out mentoring program that serves about 50 students.

The board also heard about a districtwide CPR and heart-health initiative: staff reported 610 students received hands-on CPR training in partnership with the American Heart Association and EMTs, and the school met a fundraising goal of $1,500 for the American Heart Association. Jason McAllister described plans for a district 'Arts Month'—a coordinated calendar of end-of-year arts activities intended to highlight student work across buildings, with district-level recognition planned at a future board meeting.

Board members thanked King Middle School staff and students for hosting and for the presentations and demonstrations.