Kearney High showcases "client connected" projects; students present web, design and engineering work

Kearney High School students and staff gave the board a broad demonstration of "client connected" projects on topics ranging from web design and GIS mapping to architectural plans and botany-based community work.

Emmy Berry, the district's career readiness coordinator, told the board that client connected projects pair student teams with local businesses or organizations to solve real problems and to build professional skills. "Client connected projects are when students team up with the local business or organization and solve a real problem for them," Berry said.

Students and teachers presented specific examples. A web design class completed live sites for local businesses; the presenter noted Mojo Coffee used a student design created by Angelina Beas. In human geography, students used GIS software to create story maps for Missouri Donate Life, identifying counties with low organ-donor registration and proposing outreach strategies. In engineering, students used Revit, an industry-standard program, to design house plans for community clients; senior student Ava Mays described communicating weekly with her client while producing floor plans and interior renders she plans to include in a college portfolio. Graphic design students described producing logos and marketing work used inside the district.

Botany teacher Caitlin Fountain said she was asked by the Kauffman Foundation to mentor other teachers in the Kansas City metro area on client connected projects. She listed district projects including landscape design for First United Methodist Church, pollination gardens for Kearney Parks and Clay County Parks, and plant-lab designs for the district's Spark Academy. Fountain noted students presented projects to the Kearney Board of Aldermen and the Kearney Parks Board, and that seeing work used by the community was a high point of the program.

Speakers and board members emphasized communication and career benefits. Graphic design student Bella Payne said communication with clients was the most important skill she gained; another student, Lincoln Staub, called the projects a "very good resume builder." Board members responding in the meeting praised the district for expanding real-world learning from elementary through high school and noted plans to carry the coordinator role forward after a seed grant ends.

During questions board members asked about program structure and sustainability. Presenters said the Kauffman grant had served as seed money that supported coordination and program setup; the district told the board it has built the coordinator position into the budget following the grant's conclusion.

Administrators and the board described client connected work as part of a broader, systemwide push toward project-based, career-focused learning that begins in elementary grades and is reinforced through middle and high school offerings. The board thanked students and teachers for their presentations.