KEARNEY JR. HIGH

KEARNEY JR. HIGH, an average-sized four-year high school in KEARNEY, Missouri, part of KEARNEY R-I, serves 510 students, covering grades 8 through 9.

KEARNEY JR. HIGH is one of 9 schools operated by KEARNEY R-I, a district that enrolls 3,424 students overall.

Demographically, KEARNEY JR. HIGH reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (92%). Beyond that, the school records 3% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. That is visibly more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 79%.

In terms of school funding signals, The school currently runs with 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.3:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 12.2:1 average. Around 19% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is lower than Clay County's rate of about 35%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), KEARNEY JR. HIGH tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 50.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 59.0%.

In the surrounding community, Clay County reports that the typical household earns roughly $88,468 per year, roughly 37% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Clay County's 80 public schools (combined enrollment of about 41,553 students), KEARNEY JR. HIGH is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is LENS, roughly 0.0 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, KEARNEY JR. HIGH comes 3rd of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 53.8%.

The school occupies a town-based site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 10%: 569 students in 2018 compared to 510 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 16.7:1 in 2018 to 13.3:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.