Parsons Elementary welcomes Decatur County alumna back as teacher

Kailey McKenzie is coming back to the Decatur County schools that shaped her own education, and Parsons Elementary is counting on that hometown link to help steady a key fourth-grade classroom. The school introduced McKenzie as part of the Panther Pack, and her new assignment places her in a 4th grade ELA, science and social studies role at Parsons Elementary School.

For a Pre-K through 4th grade campus, the hire matters well beyond a welcome post. Parsons Elementary, at 182 West 4th Street in Parsons, needs teachers who can keep students moving through multiple subjects with consistency, and McKenzie arrives with classroom experience already in hand. Her background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Kansas State University and three years teaching fourth grade at Lexington City Schools, where she taught science, social studies and English language arts.

The move also gives Decatur County Schools a teacher with both local roots and outside experience. McKenzie is a Decatur County alumna returning to the same system that educated her, a full-circle step that school leaders are presenting as both a homecoming and a practical staffing decision. Parsons Elementary’s staff directory lists her in the 4th ELA, Science, Soc. Studies post, confirming the assignment on campus.

That kind of placement carries extra weight in a small district. Parsons has a population of 2,686, and Decatur County’s estimated population was 11,820 on July 1, 2025, according to Census data. In a place that size, one teacher can influence how a grade level feels to families, especially in a school where students stay through fourth grade and rely on stable classroom routines before moving on.

The district’s leadership structure frames the hire as part of broader planning for the 2026-27 year. Decatur County Schools is led by Director of Schools Melinda J. Thompson, and Parsons Elementary is led by principal Lisa Renfroe. The district office is at 59 West Main Street in Decaturville, and its posted 2026-27 calendar already lists board meetings for May 14, June 11, July 9 and August 13, showing that staffing and school-year preparation are already underway.

Kansas State says its elementary education program prepares PK-6 teachers with training in instructional strategies, classroom management and assessment, all of which fit the demands of McKenzie’s new role. At Parsons Elementary, the addition gives the school a teacher who knows Decatur County from the inside and brings recent experience from another Tennessee classroom, a combination that could pay off when students settle in for the new school year.