News

The Barstow School welcomed Arthur Hall as its 18th President and Head of School on Tuesday, July 1.

On June 30, 2025, Shane Foster will retire after 17 years as the visionary leader of The Barstow Schools. His tenure has been marked by exponential growth, global programs, STEAM learning and a spirit of innovation. Read his farewell letter to our community. 

In addition to placing third in the Class 1 MSHSAA State Soccer Championship, ten players and Coach Scott Huppe earned awards for the 2025 season. 

Barstow families are invited to pack the stands at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday, July 19, as the School hosts a match title night between Sporting KC and New York FC.

As a journeyperson for the Department of Homeless Services in New York City, Emily Huffman `81 keeps homeless shelters running efficiently.

Upper school chess players competed in the Regional Cup Grade Championship, hosted by the Kansas City Chess Club, on Saturday, May 10.

Sixth grade students took parents and guests on a trip through uniquely created worlds during the World Summit Café on Monday, May 12, at IDEA Space.

Lower school students held their last Friday Forum of the year this week. Organized by Student Council, Friday Forums are held every few weeks and give lower school students the opportunity to spend time together and build community across grade levels.

Eighth grade students pondered, puzzled and played their way through a series of breakout rooms based on global historical events at IDEA Space on Wednesday, May 14. 

At an assembly on Thursday, May 8, the staff of the 2024-25 Weathercock yearbook announced this year’s theme: “What’s the Point?”

Boys golf participated in the Missouri Class 3, District 4 tournament this week.

The Barstow Parent Association celebrated faculty and staff during Teacher Appreciation Week from May 5-9.

The novice and varsity debate teams were recognized in an awards ceremony this week. The team had 311 wins and 294 losses, a winning record for the season. They earned 20 awards in policy debate, including one tournament championship and two second place finishes.

Congratulations to the comeback Class of 2028, winners of the inaugural upper school pep club points challenge!

Nothing says "end of the school year" like lower school field day! Student had a blast playing team games on Friday, May 9.

Middle schoolers were presented with awards for academic achievement and extracurricular and community involvement at the Middle School Honors and Awards Celebration on Friday, May 9. View our photo album.

Congratulations to the middle schoolers who received the following awards:

Thirteen students in grades 6, 7 and 9 were selected to have their poems published in “The Creative Communications, a Celebration of Today’s Writers.”

Award-winners at District and State competitions were announced this week. Congratulations to the following:

Students in Dr. Ben Ozenberger’s Life Science class spent time this semester studying the tissues, cells, organs and systems that make up the human body.

Fifty-four seniors will graduate from The Barstow School on Monday, May 19, at 7 p.m. Congratulations to our Class of 2025! Here is the Commencement Weekend schedule:

Fifth graders departed for Washington D.C. on Monday, April 28, where they spent the week visiting monuments, museums and historical sites.

Engineering escape rooms, understanding human organs, traveling North America and designing a mini-golf course—it all happened this week at IDEA Space.

Students in the music, theatre and art departments were recognized at Applause Night on Wednesday, April 30, where they received awards and letters for their achievements. After the awards ceremony, visitors were invited to the opening of the senior art show in the Upper School Commons and Embry Gallery. Through Friday, May 16, art created by seniors in drawing, painting and ceramics classes will be on display, with some pieces available for purchase.

Looking for the best independent school near you that offers academic excellence, personalized learning, and a vibrant community? Welcome to The Barstow School — a top private K-12 school in Kansas City with over 140 years of experience preparing students for college, career and and beyond.

Middle school French students practiced writing, reading and speaking in a fashion show activity this week.

In preparation for their week-long trip to Washington D.C, fifth graders designed, modeled and 3D printed some of the national monuments that they will visit.

Kindergartners and seniors reflected on the year and looked towards the future at the annual Kindergarten Senior Program on Wednesday, April 23.

Students from grades 4 and 5 received awards for their performance in the Noetic Learning Math Contest, a semiannual problem-solving contest for elementary and middle school-aged students. To complete the contest, students have 45 minutes to solve 20 creative math problems without a calculator.

20 students in Spanish, French and Chinese language programs in upper school were inducted into the World Language Honor Societies on Tuesday, April 22.

The yearbook staff received the Gallery of Excellence Award from Walsworth Yearbooks for the 2024-2025 Weathercock.

The boys golf team has been busy throughout the spring season, with strong showings in several tournaments.

The boys tennis team won the Truman Tournament, hosted by Truman High School, on Friday, April 11.

World Language Department Chair Amanda Marvin is the 2025 recipient of the Betsi Brooks Krumm  Award.

A NASA engineer and television meteorologist visited lower school this week, inspiring students to see themselves in STEM careers.

With only a few weeks left at Barstow, seniors in the Class of 2025 spent Monday, April 14, learning practical and emotional life skills to help prepare them for life after graduation.

Performing Arts students will have the opportunity to travel, perform and earn class credit at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland during the summer of 2026. This opportunity is available to students in graduating classes 2027-2030, and all participants will receive half a class credit in Performing Arts.

Donnie Gardner ‘03 stopped by the Barstow campus on Monday, April 7 to eat lunch with students and discuss his career as an airline pilot and entrepreneur.

Carlos Salazar, junior, was recognized as a Dean’s List Award Finalist at the FIRST Robotics Oklahoma Regional on Saturday, April 4. This award recognizes leadership and professionalism in robotics; only two students from each regional competition are selected as finalists.

The results from the Foreign Language Film Film Festival on Friday, April 4 are in. Barstow students won a total of 39 awards for their original films in Spanish, French and Chinese.

Senior Tyler Bauman has received the National Speech and Debate Association’s Academic All-American Award.

The final murals in a school-wide campus project are complete in the hallway outside middle and upper school science classrooms.

Barstow’s Kindness Club, a chapter of the nonprofit organization SevenDays, organized a kindness-themed assembly and activities on Friday, April 4.

Six lower school students won awards at the Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair (GKCSEF) in March.

Juniors Carlos Salazar, Sam Golladay and Eshan Patel traveled to Arkansas for the Hendricks College Programming Contest on Saturday, March 15, and returned with a victory!

World language students attended the Modern Language Film Festival at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg on Friday, April 4. The festival is open to students in grades 6-12 from Kansas and Missouri, who write and produce original films and submit them for competition.

Sixth grade students landed in Middle-Earth to begin an interdisciplinary unit based on "The Hobbit." 

FIRST Robotics Team 1939 made an exciting run toward the title at the Central Missouri Regional March 5-8.

Graphic novelist John Gallagher, creator of the “Max Meow: Cat Crusader” series, explained his craft and entertained students in the Lower School Media Center on Wednesday, March 12.

For the fifth year in a row, Barstow Sources of Strength ran a successful “Change for Change” drive, collecting spare change and donating it to their nonprofit of choice.

Family and friends cheered for four seniors who signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college on Thursday, March 13.

The Barstow School College Counseling and English Departments are offering a college essay writing workshop for rising seniors this summer.

The upper school play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (High School Edition)” opened on Thursday, March 6, and continues Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.

Robotics team FRC1939, otherwise known as the Kuhknights, is competing in the FIRST Robotics Central Missouri Regional in Sedalia this weekend, with events on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8. The Kuhknights are one of 36 participating teams from high schools around the midwest.

Middle and upper school debate teams were recognized with awards at competitions on Saturday, March 1.

Middle School Science Bowl participated in the DOE (Department of Energy) National Science Bowl regional competition at UMKC on Friday, Feb. 28.

Hundreds of students and families showed off their work and experimented with science, technology, engineering, arts and math at Lower School STEAM Night  on Thursday, Feb. 27.

The Lower School Media Center was filled with excited students, parents and faculty this week during the book fair, themed “Reading is my superpower.” The book fair was hosted by Rainy Day Books, an independent bookstore in Fairway, Kansas.

As part of their study of Kansas City, first graders built parade floats to depict Kansas City landmarks.

Sanjana Akkulugari, junior, has earned the Congressional Award Gold Medal.

Thirty-one middle school students challenged themselves by participating in the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) in January.

The upper school student body enjoyed a trip to the Kansas City Repertory Theatre on Wednesday, Feb. 26, for a performance of “Broke-ology,” a play by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Nathan Louis Jackson.

The spring sports season begins next week with two new upper school head coaches joining the Barstow athletic staff. Mark Pfau will lead the boys tennis team and Jeremy Spears will coach track and field.

A new mural has been installed in the upper school area.

Barstow’s inaugural chess team competed in the 2025 Groundhog Youth Chess Tournament, hosted by the Kansas City Chess Club, on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Haley Hannah ’06 has come a long way from her role as Head Ladybug in a first grade concert at Barstow.

Congratulations to early childhood and lower school students who created the winning bookmarks for the Rainy Day Book Fair.

Zahra Khumri, grade 8, won first place for her grade level in the 2024 Daughters of the American Revolution American History Essay Contest. Her essay will be submitted for judging at the state level.

The Dan & Cassidy Towriss IDEA Space KC, powered by The Barstow School, will be part of a city-wide celebration of STEAM learning again this spring. 

Two grade 6 writers won first place chapter honors in the 2024 Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest.

What makes each of us unique? Lower school students learned that it’s okay to “Just Ask,” during a pair of field trips to the Coterie Theatre this week.

The Barstow School is offering an exclusive project-based artificial intelligence program at the Dan & Cassidy Towriss IDEA Space this summer, developed and taught by Stanford and MIT graduates.

Chinese language students in grades 4-12 decorated lanterns to welcome the Year of the Snake and to celebrate Lunar New Year this month.

Middle States Association (MSA-CESS) has awarded The Barstow School with its first Responsible AI in Learning endorsement. The School is one of 31 global insitutions—and the only one in Kansas or Missouri—to earn the distinction. Read our press release.

The middle school math club competed in the MATHCOUNTS regional competition the weekend of Feb. 2-3, with an impressive showing. One team finished in third place and six students qualified for the  State Championship in Columbia in March.

Junior Darin Goodman participated in the Kansas City Music Teachers' Association Junior Concerto Competition on Sunday, Feb. 2. He won first place in the senior division, which includes musicians in grades 9-12.

In an era dominated by smartphones, Barstow’s upper school has taken on an ambitious challenge: Phone-Free February. The challenge was created following discussions among grade level coordinators to encourage students to step away from their screens during school hours and experience the benefits of a phone-free environment.

Barstow students are reimagining the future of one of Kansas City’s most beloved cultural institutions. Under the guidance of their teachers and with the support of IDEA Space, students in grades 1-5 have embarked on an ambitious project to design an expansion for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Girls tennis team was honored at the Win for KC Women's Sports Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Barstow is one of 31 schools globally, and the only school in Kansas City, to receive the Responsible AI in Learning, or RAIL, endorsement from Middle State Association. RAIL is the only AI education endorsement available for K-12 schools in the world.

Fifth grade authors are working with first grade buddies to build and animate characters and scenes as part of their children's book project.

Nominees for the 2025 homecoming king and queen have been announced. Students will receive an email in the upcoming weeks with instructions to vote. This year's royalty will be announced at halftime during the homecoming basketball game on Feb. 14.

In 2003, Birju Solanki graduated from Barstow with direct admission to the six year medical program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. But six years later, his work had taken a different path.

The Knights girls tennis team won the Class 2 State Championship on Nov. 1, besting Ladue Horton Watkins in a down-to-the-wire final, 5-4. The team reached the title match after defeating powerhouse MICDS (St. Louis) 5-4. 

The Dan & Cassidy Towriss IDEA Space KC came alive with creativity, collaboration, and purpose this month, as we kicked off the EcoSpark Waste Reduction Challenge. This exciting initiative brought metro middle school students and teachers together to tackle a pressing environmental issue: reducing food waste in school communities.

Varsity, novice and middle school debate teams competed in recent tournaments, winning multiple awards.

Three families surprised Dan McNickle with an enduring memorial to his late mother on the Barstow campus.

Students, parents, faculty and staff met during the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday to work together on service projects benefitting Kansas City area nonprofits.

Third graders shared presentations about individuals who have made a difference in the community and the world on Friday, Jan. 24.

Acclaimed children’s author and speaker Gita Varadarajan visited the Barstow campus on Friday, Jan. 17.

Seniors Shayan Ahmed and Moira Fink, along with junior Carlos Salazar, have earned the Congressional Gold Award, recognizing initiative, service and leadership.

The BTVN studio has a new piece of equipment. Working with her dad, junior Giselle Potts built a new sports broadcasting table for the studio.

The Robotics team is preparing for competitions in March and April, bringing a specific emphasis on teamwork and inclusivity to 2025.

The Barstow School welcomes acclaimed children's author Gita Varadarajan to campus on Friday, Jan. 17.  

The latest mural to brighten Barstow’s interior spaces was added to the Middle School Commons during winter break.