It serves a largely rural population in western Adair County, along with the town of Novinger, Missouri, providing pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade education.

The district was formed in the early 1950s as part of Missouri's Education Reformation Act.

The Novinger girls began using "Wild Kittens" around the same time as the boys adopted their name, and would continue to be known as such until the mid-1970s when "Lady Wildcats" was put into usage.

The Novinger band has consistently received high marks over the years with several first-place finishes at parades in Missouri and Iowa, and several "1" ratings for concert band excellence in Missouri district music contests.

In 2011 the band was invited to participate in the 38th annual Kansas City St. Patricks Day parade, one of the largest in the United States.