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Knappa Students Get Breakfast/Lunch at NO COST for 2...
Knappa School District is excited to announce the approval of the student meal service community eligibility provision (CEP) application through the Oregon Department of Education. For the 25-26 school year, every student in the Knappa School District will be offered breakfast and lunch at no cost , regardless of their paid, reduced, or free meal program status, for the next four consecutive school years. What Should Parents Know: The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows the nation’s highest-poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students. Knappa School District qualified for the change because more than 25% of students were directly certified for free or reduced meals.
Wednesday, Aug 06 2025
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July 23, 2025 Community Update
Knappa School District No. 4 July 23, 2025 Superintendent Community Update Dear Knappa Community: Yes, the second half of summer is upon us and many things are happening at the school. Student Success Committee We continue to seek parents and students who wish to serve on our Student Success Committee. These quarterly meetings will review student data and programming to advise on how we can improve learning for all students. If you are interested, please complete this form at the link below: Join the Committee Interim Principal for Hilda Lahti School & Knappa Middle School ADr. Andrew Rynberg has been named as the interim principal for Hilda Lahti Elementary School, Knappa Early Learning, and Knappa Middle School. During his 30-year career, Dr. Rynberg has served as an elementary, middle, high school, and alternative education principal. He began his career as a high school teacher and routinely draws from those experiences the richness of what, why, and how he provides leadership to schools. Dr. Rynberg has academic degrees in Munitions, Business Management, Accounting, Curriculum & Instruction, and K12 School Leadership. Before working in education, Dr. Rynberg served in the U.S. Air Force and has worked in federal service with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). Most recently, Dr. Rynberg served as Department of Defense- Education Activity’s (DoDEA’s) Community Superintendent for Mid-Atlantic District, Puerto Rico. Prior to that he served as Community Superintendent for various DoDEA schools in Europe. Prior to his leadership roles with DoDEA, Dr. Rynberg served as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction for the School District of Indian River County (SDIRC) in Vero Beach, Florida. As SDIRC’s leader of curriculum and instruction, he oversaw the needs for SDIRC’s 26 schools, 1,200 teachers, and 18,000 students. Additionally, for several years, Dr. Rynberg participated with the State of Michigan and Michigan State University’s Office of K12 Outreach to provide direct instructional and leadership support for hundreds of schools. Dr. Rynberg has received extensive training in leadership and instructional coaching with both Michigan State University and the University of Florida. Utilizing that experience, he has and continues to support the leadership and instructional capacity for thousands of school leaders and instructional staff. As Interim Principal at Hilda Lahti/KMS, Dr. Rynberg will continue to work for the best possible outcomes needed to promote the academic, social, and emotional needs of all kids and will provide strong leadership to support staff and parents for the highest quality education for students. Dr. Rynberg and I worked together earlier in our careers, and I have seen his firsthand work supporting school improvement through collaborative leadership, professional development, and implementation of best practices. We are pleased that Andrew is able to join us for the upcoming year to continue the solid work happening at our school and prepare the school community for a new permanent principal in 2026. New Names & New Faces to Learn Joshua Niehuser has accepted the custodian position at Hilda Lahti and KMS. Tori Neitzke is the new Student Success Coordinator at KHS. She will be helping with 9GS work and supporting students in alternative education. Emily Fewing comes to us from Warrenton Hammond School District where she has served for four years. She will be leading the Cool Kids Club (the high needs consortium classroom that is moving to Knappa). Facilities, Vehicles, and Summer School The gym floors at HLE and KHS (see photo) are waxed (the middle school will be happening in a few weeks). Carpets will be installed in HLE offices and classroom spaces on Monday. The existing flooring has been removed and the rooms are almost finished being painted (see photo). The roof at HLE is in progress. We were able to purchase a 10 passenger van for transportation of small groups of students and a full size bus is scheduled for delivery on August 10. Kinder Camp & Smart Start Summer Program Summer school begins on August 4th. It is not too late to sign up. Please send an email to palenskec@knappak12.org for questions. Smart Start Registration Pickleball in Action Knappa Community Courts are getting daily use and there was a good turnout last night for Meyer's weekly lessons. This community facility was fully supported by donations, and adds a nicely finished space adjacent to our HLE recess area. Thank you to Meyer Freeman for his advocacy on this project. Come by and check it out! Make a Difference. Work for Knappa Schools! We are also always seeking substitute bus drivers. We provide the training and there is a $1,500 signing bonus (upon completion of 80 hours of service). Applicants must have a clean criminal background and be drug free. Visit the link below for current openings! KSD Jobs Sports Physicals These will occur on campus on August 11th from 9-3. Thank you to Jenny Smith for putting this together. Have Fun @ Fair, See you there! We hope you are enjoying your summer and that people have fun at the fair next week! We can’t wait to have the students back for a great year of learning in 2025-26! Feat. Max Graham and his Turkey!
Wednesday, Jul 23 2025
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July 8, 2025 New & Improved Community Update
Knappa School District No. 4 July 8, 2025 Superintendent Community Update Dear Knappa Community: We hope you enjoyed the Independence Day Holiday last week. While the students are away, exciting things are happening in our school district to get ready for the upcoming school year. Our maintenance and custodial team are working hard to clean and spruce up the schools. We appreciate Randall, Stan, Sheri, and Donnie for their hard work. In addition, thank you Claudine and Laura for updating our newly painted walls. You can join this high quality team! We still have an open custodian position. It is full time position with benefits and a state retirement plan. The pay rate ranges from $18.58 to $24.61 per hour. We need a person who is attentive to detail and cares about helping our students and staff have the best environment possible. Please visit our employment page at www.knappa.k12.or.us/employment for more information. At Hilda Lahti Elementary School, the new roof over the cafeteria is being installed and an office renovation is underway. At KHS, the new PA system is being installed, while we are getting rid of the one that was installed in the 1950’s (maybe?). Apply Today! Knappa Community Courts. After several months of fundraising and hard work, Meyer Freedman and “Playful Pickleball” have finished the updates to the play area (reusing the slab where the former portable classrooms used to be post Bond) We are pleased to announce that the brand new Knappa Community Court is now officially open for community use! The court was just completed so we encourage everyone to come out and play this summer. There are two pickleball courts and two basketball hoops, plus a shed full of pickleball equipment, basketballs and games like Spikeball, badminton, and mini tennis. Please let your friends and family in the Knappa area know about the new courts. Feel free to share on social media, and please join the Knappa Community Court group on Facebook. You can also post and view pickleball play times on PlayTime Scheduler, in the Clatsop County/North Coast region. Grand Opening Celebration this Saturday | Community Pickleball Night Starts next Tuesday Everyone is invited to attend the Knappa Community Court Grand Opening Celebration, this Saturday, July 12th at 3:00 p.m. Starting next week, Meyer will host a weekly Community Pickleball Night, with free introductory lessons, every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Knappa School District is pleased to be a partner in this project to provide much needed recreation space in our area. We are very thankful for the generous Knappa Community Court donors. We believe the court will become a cherished community space for many years to come. Location and Hours. Knappa Community Court is located on the west side of Hilda Lahti Elementary. The court is open to the public on non-school days from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and will be open on school days from 3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The code to access the equipment shed is: P-L-A-Y. It can be accessed by the gate near the baseball field. Click here to play! Summer Learning. We look forward to welcoming the class of 2038 to Kindercamp the first week of August. We also can’t wait to see our summer learning students then. If you want your student to get a running start for the new school year in literacy and mathematics, please contact Carrie Palenske at palenskec@knappak12.org. Yes, it will be a time of learning, but it also will involve fun activities for students. The program runs the first two full weeks of August. As a reminder, if your student wants to brush up on their math skills during the summer, their iReady accounts are still accessible, and they can improve existing skills or move ahead by using the program. We Welcome Partial Enrollment for Home School Families. Do you know somebody who prefers to home school their children, but needs a bit of help? We are glad to enroll students part time in a class or two to assist. Is the math getting to hard to teach as students progress at the high school level? Want to supplement learning with music or art instruction? Does a child want to learn how to weld or do carpentry? Do they need a true lab experience for science learning? Is your child ready to do College in the High School (and gain some credits prior to being charged tuition)? Please contact Mr. Isom at the high school and he can help families out via email at isomp@knappak12.org. If you or somebody you know need similar services at the elementary or middle school level, please contact me at fritzw@knappak12.org. We respect the many choices families have for the education of our community’s children. We are glad to help with flexible options. Please continue to have an enjoyable summer. We look forward to having the students back in September.
Tuesday, Jul 08 2025
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