For 100 years, iconic high school has been ‘the root’ of ever-changing Northland
The view from Nancy Knipfel’s old classroom feels the same as it did 45 years ago when she first took up a teaching post at North Kansas City High School — fulfilling a lifelong dream of teaching at her alma mater.
Even still, after years spent analyzing Shakespearean plays, discussing classic pieces of literature with students and eventually swapping her classroom gig for various roles throughout the high school, Knipfel, a 1964 graduate, likes to sneak up to her old classroom on the top floor to admire the trees that sit outside the window.
It’s a reminder of the dream she once spent a decade chasing, the subsequent years of teaching English to countless students and just how special North Kansas City High — lovingly nicknamed “Northtown” — is to her and thousands of students, teachers and families who have walked its halls over the last century.
And as the school celebrates 100 years of serving the community this year, Knipfel said the widespread pride for Northtown is more apparent than ever. Alumni flooded the stands of the football field during homecoming, and people have shown up in crowds to celebrate the centennial year at various events.
Next month, the district will cap off its year of celebration with a community-wide rededication and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the high school on April 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to honor 100 years of Northtown tradition.
“It has stood for a hundred years, and it has meant so much to so many people, and gave them a place to feel like they belong,” she said. “I just hope that we can keep that same sentiment for the next 100 years. I want everybody to feel about Northtown like I do. It’s just such a special place.”
100 years of change
Since North Kansas City High School first opened in 1926, around 13 years after the district was formed, the district’s first high school has grown, evolved and changed.
The old fieldhouse built in the early 1950s was torn down and replaced. The auditorium eventually became the library and the original gym, which was prone to flooding every time it rained, was transformed into administrative offices.
But the iconic football field constructed in 1941 and the original school building — referred to as “Old Main” — are still standing, connecting the school’s historic past with its modernized future.
Keith Jones, the principal of NKCHS, said the 100th anniversary has allowed the district and community to reflect on the school’s history and appreciate how far it has come since 1926.
In his three years as principal, Jones said he frequently meets community members who have fond memories of their time at Northtown, or have grandparents and great-grandparents who once attended. He even meets people who have grandchildren at other high schools, but attended Northtown before the district’s other three high schools were built.
“We are definitely the root and the foundation of the school district,” he said.
When the school district first opened in 1913, it served 32 students and employed a principal, assistant and two teachers. Now, North Kansas City High School alone is home to more than 1,700 students.
Knipfel has had a front-row seat to Northtown’s development over the past five decades. She’s even played a key role in the school and district’s expansion, helping develop the High School Alternative Program, which provides an different educational pathways for students in need.
It’s been a bittersweet experience, she said, especially watching as the building itself has changed over time.
“It’s beautiful. It’s just lovely,” Knipfel said of the upgrades. “But Old Main will always be forever my love, because that’s where I started out. That’s what I came back to.”
Saying goodbye together
For Jenny Nance, a longtime teacher and cheer coach, Northtown has been an important piece of her life since she was a teenager, too. It’s where she went to school. It was the place she once dreamed of teaching at. And now, it’s where she has spent the past 30 years working.
“It’s a great place to come back to,” she said. “It’s really special to me. It’s a place that I hold so dear to my heart.”
Before Nance and Knipfel became colleagues, they first met when Nance was a high school student. Knipfel taught her in class, coached her in cheerleading and mentored her as a teaching assistant.
The two walked a similar path, each developing a deep love for Northtown in school and later chasing a dream to teach there.
Now, as the centennial year comes to an end, both Knipfel and Nance will leave together, both planning to retire at the end of the school year.
Soon, they will both find other things to focus on and different ways to spend their days.
“But nothing will probably ever compare to our school,” Nance said.
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 2:27 PM.
