Kickapoo High School (Springfield, Missouri)

Kickapoo High School is a high school in Springfield, Missouri. Kickapoo officially opened its doors in October 1971, the fifth of Springfield's five high schools. When Kickapoo was first established the construction had not completed so at the start of classes the students of Kickapoo split shifts at cross-town rival Glendale for about six weeks, with Glendale's students going to classes from 6 a.m. until noon, and Kickapoo's using the Glendale campus from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. It is named "Kickapoo" after its location in a part of Springfield known as the "Kickapoo Prairie" and after the Native American Tribe. The school's mascot is the "Kickapoo Chief". In 2014 it had about 2,100 students and 100 teachers, making Kickapoo the largest of the five high schools in Springfield. After adjustments were made to district lines, this number dropped to 1,800 in the 2015-2016 school year.AcademicsKickapoo 's characteristics include: Honors, Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement courses, an Orthopedically Handicapped Program, a Learning Resource and a Japanese language program. Kickapoo also participates in a program known as A+, in which students must maintain a 2.5 GPA and complete a certain number of service hours, most of which are completed through peer tutoring. Students who successfully complete the A+ program automatically get a free two-year scholarship to a two-year college in the state.JournalismPN Media is a student produced news organization on the campus of Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri. The flagship paper, The Prairie News, has been published since the school opened in 1971.In 2008 the program underwent a major revision when the paper was renamed 'PN Media'. In May 2009 KHS Prairie News was launched to provide Kickapoo students with a more up to date news source. PN Media overhauled the site in the fall of 2009.