by Mark Tallman

With an enrollment of just 155 students last year, Northern Valley USD 212 is one of the state’s smallest districts. Based in Phillips and Norton Counties in northwest Kansas along the Nebraska border, it has the challenges and advantages of very rural districts. It is also demonstrating high student outcomes. 

KASB has developed a formula to compare a school system’s actual performance with expected outcomes based on enrollment and the percentage of low-income students and students with disabilities – two groups that often face greater challenges in school. Northern Valley’s percentage of students with free and reduced-price meal eligibility and students with disabilities averaged 72.7% for 2015 through 2024, well above the state average. 

For state assessments, graduation rate and postsecondary success, both last year and over several years, Northern Valley exceeded expectations by an average of 6.2%, ranking 11th out of 132 districts with less than 500 students. Its 2024 graduation rate was 100%, 7.7 percentage points higher than expected. 

I met with administrators, teachers, students and the school board vice president to talk about how the district is getting high results. 

Strong school community relationships, but open to change. “I always feel like tradition is such an important part of this school district, yet it doesn't bind us,” said secondary math teacher Emily Lowry. “We're very open to new things, to new challenges, to reaching out to the community, making things better, providing more resources for our kids.” 

“What is really cool about our school is I've known most of these people my whole life,” said KAY president Jaycee Gebhard. “Everyone's involved with each other; everyone knows what's going on. That's just really cool from a student's perspective; to know they all have my back.” 

Secondary science teacher Jessie Thalheim agreed. “I’ve learned that if there’s a student in class that is having trouble, they're being supported by their classmates instead of being ostracized.”  

“I think we need to give a lot of credit to our teachers and our faculty and our staff.” Said school board vice president Shanna Hammond. “Students feel loved by their teachers, and they feel like their teachers genuinely care about what happens to them. If somebody isn't showing up to school, they're going to figure out why. It just feels more like a family.” 

Student involvement. Northern Valley leaders link their success to high levels of student engagement, fostered by the district. “I think one of the biggest things here is student ownership,” said secondary English teacher Nita Lewis, who is also the student success coordinator. “I know that first year I was here, I loved how at the beginning of the year, we had workdays for the students, working together on activities. When I was teaching in other districts, I wish we could have gotten more of those kinds of things, that student ownership and involvement, having pride in their school." 

Superintendent and high school principal Ken Tharman further explained the first day of school. “We always have a morning session where I go through the handbook and everything. Then we divide up into groups for a kind of ‘get to know you’ activity that’s normally structured by our student council. Sometimes we have new students. Sometimes the freshmen are new to the building, so it's just a getting-acquainted period.” 

“In the afternoon, we do a four-hour CPR and AED training for sophomores and seniors, which complies with the state training requirement for high school graduates. I have been an EMT for the last 25 years, so I said, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. They get a two-year certification. A lot of our students do CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) work outside of school.. For freshmen and juniors, we do a ‘stop the bleed’ training. Then the juniors will go out to the concession stand area, get those ready for our home games. Freshmen do orientation, get used to where the classrooms are. The spring activity is basically a school cleanup. Middle school does a similar deal,” he said. 

Longstanding preschool program. Another distinctive part of the Northern Valley system is a preschool open to all students, including those from outside the district. “Our preschool has been present for a while,” said PreK-8 principal Marvin Gebhard. “Our preschool has always been unique, because we accept all kids. Doesn't matter if they qualify at-risk or for IEP (Individualized Education Program) or not, we've always allowed any kid that qualified by age to come.” Educators say the program helps prepare students for elementary school, which contributes to higher assessment results, and also helps enrollment by attracting families from other districts who send kids to the preschool and stay in the district. 

Career, college and life preparation. Northern Valley has also focused on helping prepare students for life beyond high school. “I love that our seminar classes are focused on personal exploration, career development and career exploration, from fifth through 12th grade,” said teacher Jessie Thalheim. “We’re trying to get these kids to discover things about themselves, build strengths in different skills that are very applicable to working, being parents, being community members. I came from schools that don't have that, so I didn't get a chance to genuinely sit down with students and talk about, 'What do you want to do? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? How can we work on those things?’ And we do that from fifth grade on.” 

“The juniors and seniors are researching colleges,” she continued. “They're learning which things that they want to do, what classes they have to take, what certifications they need to do, whether they need to go to college or not. And they're truly discovering what makes them happy and what makes them want to do that forever. Seniors do cover letters and scholarship applications. They make sure that they're applying to every place that they need to apply and have everything ready to go before graduation.” 

Job shadowing starts in ninth grade. In eighth through 12th grade, each Northern Valley class is taken on a college visit, so by the time they are seniors, they have visited four different colleges – whether  a trade school, community college or university. Seniors who have completed course requirements can request permission to work at a job.  

Students can take concurrent enrollment courses in partnership with Colby Community College. The district currently offers five Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways, with the challenge of finding and keeping qualified teachers. The district hopes to fill an open position for an agriculture teacher. It has had to rely on other teachers to maintain its Agriculture pathway, while still offering a Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization. FFA President Maverick Rogers says that has allowed students to keep learning. “In my freshman year, we had an ag teacher,” he said. “After that, I feel like we kept on going just as we should.”  

Extracurricular and co-curricular activities. Students said the small size of their district forces them to work together. “I think almost all of our students are in almost all of the clubs,” said student council president Jordyn Cox. “That is honestly how we're able to still have a volleyball team. Because if everybody didn't go out, we wouldn't have a team. Our teachers help keep us accountable and help us with all our work. Even though we're doing all these things, it strengthens us to be well-rounded people.” 

Student support interventions. Like every district I’ve visited that exceeds expectations, educators credit a strong Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) program. MTSS sets aside a block of time to provide more individualized instruction for students, whether they are struggling with a skill or needing more enrichment. The district also partners with area providers for mental health services and uses social workers and school psychologists from the NCKSEC cooperative. 

Four-day school week. Finally, Northern Valley leaders say their four-day school week (Monday through Thursday) has supported student outcomes. Like many districts, another advantage of this schedule is its popularity with teachers, providing an advantage in recruiting. Some educators worry that cutting a day of instructional time from each week means less learning for students, and in larger communities, it can make it harder for families to find childcare. 

In Northern Valley, however, students and educators say having Fridays off provides time for students to spend with family, work on the family farm or another job or simply rest and recover. 

“I think it's helped our kids academically,” said teacher Emily Lowry. “Our kids are really busy with school. Then there is dance practice before school, sports practice after school. You have an FFA meeting after practice. You have church classes on Wednesday; you have FCA on Wednesday mornings. Friday is a day you can sleep a little later, even if we still run practices or you're leaving for a ball game. Really, I think it's helping the kids stay more focused Monday through Thursday.”