News and Stories

Congratulations to the Park Hill School District sophomores who earned spots at the Missouri Scholars Academy summer program at the University of Missouri!  

Plaza Middle School student Haddie Watson recently took first place in the junior division of the Harry S. Truman Library National History Day Greater Kansas City Contest.

Congratulations to Lakeview Middle School for being named an AVID National Demonstration School. AVID National Demonstration Schools demonstrate an ongoing pursuit of excellence.

Congratulations to four-time wrestling state champion Maddie Kubicki!

Congratulations to Russell Jones Education Center Principal Dr. Tara Kalis on being selected for the 2023 Outstanding Building Leadership Award by the Midwest Symposium For Leadership in Behavior Disorders.

Congratulations to Park Hill High School senior quarterback Kendrick Bell who recently won the 39th annual Simone Award, the top award for the best all-around high school football player in the Kansas City area.

More than a dozen Park Hill High School band and orchestra students competed against student musicians from across the state in Columbia, Mo., recently to earn positions in the All-State Band and All-State Orchestra.

Congratulations to the 10 Park Hill High School AVID seniors who received full tuition scholarships (plus fees and textbooks) to Avila University through KC Scholars.

Student journalists from Park Hill South High School attended the NSPA/JEA National High School Convention in St. Louis recently.

Dozens of Park Hill School District band and orchestra students competed against students from schools throughout the Kansas City region to earn positions in the All-District orchestras and bands.

Park Hill High School senior Shaye Koski won the 2022 Evelyn Gates Award. Shaye was one of four finalists from around the metro and won the award during an assembly at the school.

Congratulations to Hawthorn Elementary counselor Bianca Mayfield-Miller for receiving the Nationally Recognized Missouri Program Award (NRM) from the Missouri School Counselor Association.

Jamie Faudere, seventh-grade reading teacher at Congress Middle School, was named the Middle Level Student Council Advisor of the Year for the Northwest District of the Missouri Association of Student Councils

Congratulations to Park Hill South’s Maddie Kubicki for being inducted into The National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Missouri Chapter as the Female Athlete of the Year.

Dozens of Park Hill School District choir students competed against students from schools throughout the Kansas City region to earn positions in the All-District choirs. All-District orchestra and band auditions will take place in November.

The Panther Marching Band recently traveled to Carrollton High School to participate in the Carrollton Band Day Festival with more than twenty other bands.

Congratulations to Park Hill High School senior Ari Staggs and Park Hill South seniors, Sophia Nguyen, Ryan Kempton and Tessa Mitchell for being selected as Semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. 

Ysabella Olsen, a junior at Park Hill South High School, was elected to represent the State of Missouri as the HOSA - Future Health Professionals Vice President of Membership.

Congratulations to Park Hill South High School student Lucy Hamilton for being recognized as a 2022 winner of The University of Missouri's Creating Original Music Project; a statewide competition that recognizes Missouri students (K-12) who compose original works in a variety of musical styles.

Congratulations to Park Hill High School 2021-2022 girls volleyball team for earning the Team Academic Award from the United States Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association for the seventh year in a row

Rouida Siddiqui, an incoming senior at Park Hill South High School, recently earned recognition as a QuestBridge College Prep Scholar.

Students from Park Hill High School earned honors from the Kansas City Cappies for their work in the school play and musical. Phoebe Monsees, Jalen Mack and Alessandra Rossi won awards for “The Addams Family” costumes; Urielle Gabriel won a female dancer award for “The Addams Family”; Sarah Gabriel won a female critic award; and Dillon Potts won a male critic award.

Fifteen Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School DECA students earned recognition at the State Career Development Conference. Milkey Sarbessa from Park Hill High School was elected to serve as the Missouri State DECA president for the 2022-2023 school year, and Faith Moise was elected to serve as a Missouri representative leader.

Students from Park Hill South High School participated in the MSHAA One-Act Play competition at the state level. The Park Hill South theater program took first place in the preliminary round and fourth place in the final round for their piece, “Elephant’s Graveyard.”

Twenty-seven Park Hill School District students earned awards from the KC Scholars program this year. This program, started by the Kauffman Foundation, awarded scholarships of up to $10,000 a year to students across the region, including students from across the Park Hill School District.

Students from Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School received nominations and awards for Starlight Theatre’s Blue Star Awards.

Thirteen students from across the Park Hill School District earned honors in the state and national SkillsUSA competition through the Northland Career Center.

Park Hill and Park Hill South high schools’ robotics teams, the Trobots and Electro-Magnetic Panthers, competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition.

Park Hill South High School's HOSA Chapter (future health professionals) competed in the annual Missouri State Leadership Competition. Students who placed in the top three will advance to the International Leadership Conference this summer. 

Eleven Park Hill School District elementary and middle schools earned Awards of Excellence from the Missouri Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support program for exemplary teaching and reinforcing behavioral expectations.

The Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School yearbook staffs received the Gallery of Excellence award from the Walsworth Publishing Company.

Journalism Educators of Metropolitan Kansas City (JEMKC) gave awards to Park Hill School District students at their awards ceremony. JEMKC honored top journalism programs on both sides of the state line.

The Park Hill High School bowling team, the Bowling Trojans, won the district championship tournament for the fifth year in a row.

Park Hill and Park Hill South high school students on the newspaper, yearbook and broadcast staffs brought home awards from the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association and Missouri Journalism Education Association’s 2022 Journalism Day.

Sid Suvarna, a recent graduate from Park Hill South High School, is a National Merit Scholar. Approximately 1.5 million students entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program, and only 7,500 students earned National Merit Scholar awards.

The 2022 Missouri Scholars Academy chose six students from across the Park Hill School District to attend its summer program at the University of Missouri.

Union Chapel Elementary earned the national “No Place for Hate” recognition for the second year in a row from the Anti-Defamation League.

Park Hill High School junior Ari Staggs and Park Hill South High School junior Ryan Kempton achieved perfect ACT scores recently, which, according to ACT, puts them in the top less-than-one-percent of test takers.  

The LEAD Innovation Studio building earned major awards for sustainability and for a collaborative design process. Hollis + Miller architects recently earned the John Shaw award for their work on LEAD.

Four students from Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School in the Park Hill School District earned recognition in Missouri Scholars 100, a statewide program that honors 100 of Missouri's top academic students in the class of 2022.

Joshua Marchbank, head coach of the Park Hill High School boys soccer team, received the Missouri Class 4, Region 4 Public School Coach of the Year award from the Missouri State High School Soccer Coaches Association.  

Twenty-five students from Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School, including students at the LEAD Innovation Studio, earned spots in the Missouri Boys State and the Missouri Girls State summer programs.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars program selected five Park Hill School District seniors as candidates for one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions.

Three Park Hill School District seniors advanced to finalist standing in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Eleven Park Hill School District middle and high school students earned honors in the University of Missouri-Kansas City Honor Band festival.

Two Park Hill South High School soccer players earned spots on the Missouri All-Academic Soccer team.

The counseling teams at Congress Middle School and Walden Middle School in the Park Hill School District earned the national RAMP award.

If bad weather, temperatures or road conditions make it unsafe for students to get to school, we will call an AMI distance learning day. 

Dozens of Park Hill School District band and orchestra students competed against students from schools throughout the Kansas City region to earn positions in the All-District orchestras and bands.

Park Hill South High School boys swimming and diving coach Tim Busenhart earned the 2020-2021 Missouri and Section V Coach of the Year awards from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Two students from the Park Hill School District earned the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award at the school level.

The Park Hill High School cheerleading team won the 5A small state championship! 

Four Park Hill High School students earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognitions programs.

Nathan Carrillo from Park Hill High School earned top honors in the QuestBridge National College Match program.

The counseling teams at Congress Middle School and Walden Middle School in the Park Hill School District earned the Dr. Norman C. Gysbers Nationally Recognized Missouri Program award from the Missouri School Counselor Association.

Park Hill South High School senior Mudia Reuben earned the 2021 Otis Taylor award.

The yearbook program at Lakeview Middle School in the Park Hill School District earned the 2021 National Yearbook Program of Excellence award at the bronze level from Jostens. 

Dozens of Park Hill School District choir students competed against students from schools throughout the Kansas City region to earn positions in the All-District choirs. All-District orchestra and band auditions will take place in November.

Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School’s 2020-2021 boys and girls soccer teams each earned the Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches Association, which honors teams for maintaining at least a 3.25 GPA. Nationwide, 282 teams earned the honor, and PHHS and Park Hill South are two of only 31 schools to have two teams earn this award.  

Hawthorn and Renner elementary schools earned the 2020-2022 National PTA School of Excellence award.

A 2021 Park Hill South High School graduate earned honors at the international HOSA: Future Health Professionals competition.

Justin Ford, journalism teacher at Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School, is one of three teachers to win the Journalism Education Association’s Special Recognition Broadcast Adviser award this year.

Eight Park Hill School District seniors earned National Merit recognition.

Park Hill South High School boys swimming and diving coach Tim Busenhart earned the 2020-2021 Coach of the Year award from the Missouri State High School Activities Association.