Young Public School

Welcome to Young Public School, home of the Panthers! We are a small school located in Gila County, Arizona, serving families in our area from preschool through senior year.

Please take some time to get to know our school and staff members. At Young Public School, academics and character count. We take pride in preparing our graduates for life after high school and invite you to contact us with questions.

A Message from Our Superintendent

Dear Young Community,

My name is Chad Knippen, and I am the incoming superintendent/principal of the Young Public School District. I wanted to share how much I am looking forward to being part of the Young community and working with you and your children. I also want to tell you a little bit about my background and about my family.

First, I would like to thank the Young Public School Board for allowing me the opportunity to become the next superintendent/principal. It is an honor to be entrusted with the responsibility of leadership and something that I never take lightly. I will do everything in my power to ensure your student(s) have an outstanding experience at Young Public School.

A bit about myself, I began my education career in 1996 in Tucson, AZ teaching elementary and middle school. After my teaching career, I served as assistant principal at Carson Middle School for two years and then principal at Borman Elementary School for eleven years. My wife, Lori, (son, Cody) and I had always wanted to work overseas at some point in our careers, so I accepted a middle school associate principal position in Saudi Arabia, where we stayed for eight years. During this time, we visited several countries, and I was able to visit over 30 schools/districts throughout the world. I learned so much about others, about myself, and about education during this time, and feel very fortunate to have had the experience. Our family very much enjoyed our time abroad, but the impact of COVID-19 brought us back to Arizona. I really enjoyed the small community life in Saudi Arabia and accepted the superintendent position in Vernon, Arizona. This was followed by a move back to Tucson where I was an assistant superintendent in Catalina Foothills School District. I am very excited to be back in a small community once again. There is something very special about this school, and I am looking forward to discovering that first hand! I look forward to meeting and working with you in the upcoming years. If you have any questions, you may feel free to stop by the school or send me an email.

Thank you, enjoy the summer, and I’ll see you soon!

Chad Knippen

Chad Knippen
Superintendent/Principal