North Kansas City High School
| North Kansas City High School | |
|---|---|
Purple Pride Equals Golden Rewards
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| Address | |
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620 East 23rd Avenue North Kansas City, Missouri 64116 |
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| Coordinates | 39°08′45″N 94°34′23″W / 39.14570°N 94.57314°WCoordinates: 39°08′45″N 94°34′23″W / 39.14570°N 94.57314°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| School district | North Kansas City School District |
| Principal | Dr. Wartick |
| Faculty | 211 |
| Grades | 9 – 12 |
| Enrollment | 1,700 |
| Color(s) | Purple and Gold |
| Mascot | Hornet |
| Rivals | Winnetonka High School and Oak Park High School and Staley High School |
| Newspaper | The Buzz |
| Yearbook | 1924-1949 "Owl" / 1950 to present "Purgold" |
| Broadcast | NTV News |
| Website | North Kansas City High School |
North Kansas City High School, also known as "NKCHS," "NKC," and "Northtown," is a high school in North Kansas City, Missouri with 1700+ students, ranging from freshmen to seniors. The first graduating class found of record was in 1917 with three known graduates. The school began as an all-white school, due to the inhabitants of the community, and is now one of the most diverse and integrated schools in the nation.
Since July 2001, Northtown has been an International Baccalaureate World School with Dr. Jane Reed as the program coordinator.
Throughout the school's history, several buildings have been built and torn down. Currently standing are the three-story Main building featuring the original theatre, Fieldhouse, Business Technology building, and Norclay (formerly used as an elementary school). Other buildings in use on the campus are the "Academy" and the North Kansas City Public Library and Media Center. Northtown prides itself on its unique opportunity both as one of the only local schools to have an open campus but also as the only school in the state of Missouri to allow open lunch to all students.
The stone wall around the NKCHS Football Field was created as a works project during the Great Depression. It has been ranked the Most Interesting High School Football Field in the Kansas City area by the Kansas City Star, and has been used for local commercials, including Metro Sports.
The current main building was contracted to be built the first of March, 1925 as documented in the 1925 NKCHS Owl Yearbook for a total cost of $190,000. The contract was awarded to Fritzlen & Hufford Construction in Liberty, Missouri. The 1926 NKCHS Owl yearbook describes the opening and dedication of the new building on Sunday afternoon, January 24, 1926 by Missouri Governor Baker.
One of the most beloved buildings where classes were held, was the Hiram McElroy Dagg building.
The mascot is the Hornet. Although many have thought the original mascot was an owl, no evidence of that exists in published NKCHS yearbooks that we have found. There is; however, evidence of the Hornet mascot in the 1929 yearbook. The confusion comes with the name of the yearbook from 1924 through 1949; which was "The Owl" yearbook. High school jewelry like pins, etc. also bore the image of an owl; however, there is no evidence that the owl was the school's "mascot". The evidence is even stronger when you read in the 1929 Owl yearbook where the Pep Squad states, "All right, let's everybody give fifteen big "Rahs" for the "Hornets". Again in the 1930 NKCHS Owl yearbook you can see the Hornet on the Basketball player's shirts.
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Wikipedia