This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2024) |
Kansas City Public Schools | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Location | |
United States | |
Coordinates | 39°05′58″N94°34′45″W / 39.09940°N 94.57912°W |
District information | |
Type | Public school district |
Motto | Strong Schools. Strong Communities. Successful Students. |
Grades | PreK - 12 [1] |
Established | 1867 |
Superintendent | Dr. Jennifer Collier |
Accreditation | Regained to Provisional August 6, 2014 |
Schools | 35 [1] |
Budget | $328 million |
NCES District ID | 2916400 [1] |
Students and staff | |
Students | 15,345 (2016–17) [1] |
Teachers | 1,087.94 (FTE, 2016–17) [1] |
Staff | 1,174.19 (FTE non-teachers) [1] |
Student–teacher ratio | 14.10 [1] |
Other information | |
Website | Official website |
Kansas City 33 School District, [2] operating as Kansas City Public Schools or KCPS (formerly Kansas City, Missouri School District, or KCMSD), is a school district headquartered at 2901 Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
The district, which lost accreditation in 2011, regained provisional accreditation from the state in 2014. In November 2016, the district announced it had gotten a high enough score on state accountability measures for the State Board of Education to consider full accreditation. However, the state's education commissioner told KCPS she wanted to see sustained progress. The earliest the district is likely to regain full accreditation is 2018.
In 2016, the district moved from their longtime offices at 1211 McGee in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, to a Midtown location to be closer to district families.
The school district serves most of the residents of Kansas City, Missouri. The school district's borders are not contiguous with the boundaries of Kansas City; notably, it does not serve any of the city north of the Missouri River. Many areas that have been annexed by Kansas City over the years are served by 11 districts based in the suburbs.
It is bordered on the west by the Kansas/Missouri border line and on the east by the Independence and Raytown school districts. It is bordered on the north by the Missouri River. It is bordered on the south by the Hickman Mills school district and, at approximately 85th Street, by the Center school district.
At the end of the Civil War, there were no public schools in the entire state of Missouri. Aside from a limited number of private schools and colleges, there were few educational opportunities. [3] During reconstruction, Radical Republicans advocated for strong statewide public education through several laws and the 1865 Constitution. [4] As a response, the Kansas City Public School district was organized, with the first school board meeting taking place on 1 March 1867. At the time there was 2,150 school age children in the district. [3] Funds were able to be scraped together for the formal start of the school year in October 1867. Eight rooms across the city, from church basements to abandoned dwellings, were secured. Ten teachers started the school year, which increased to 21 by the end of the first year. Bonds were issued for the first public school building, The Washington School, located on the corner of Independence Avenue and Cherry Street. By 1869, it had been enlarged to eight rooms and held seating for 500 pupils. A two room brick building named The Lincoln School, was built in 1869 on the corner of Ninth and Charlotte streets and was the first public segregated school for African American students in Kansas City.
During the Panic of 1873, school funding was stretched as teachers took 10% pay cuts. There was sharp opposition to public education particularly of high school, which was seen as "squandering the people's money." [3] When the school board attempted to construct a high school on 9th Street between Cherry and Holmes, it was criticized for its "extravagance." Instead, it opened what was to become Central High School in a four room building on Eleventh and Locust streets. Originally named Kansas City High School, the school board changed the name to Central School in an effort to outwit the opposition. [3]
By 1897, the district employed almost 500 teachers.
![]() | This section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2019) |
From 1985 to 1999, a United States district court judge required the state of Missouri to fund the creation of magnet schools in the KCPS in order to reverse the white flight that had afflicted the school district since the 1960s. The district's annual budget more than tripled in the process. The expenditure per pupil and the student-teacher ratio were the best of any major school district in the nation. Many high schools were given college-level facilities. Despite all the largesse, test scores in the magnet schools did not rise; the black-white gap did not diminish; and there was less, not more, integration. [6] On May 1, 2000, Kansas City Public Schools became the first district in the nation to lose accreditation. [7] Finally, on September 20, 2011, the Missouri Board of Education voted unanimously to withdraw the district's accreditation status, effective January 1, 2012. [8] In August 2014, the Board of Education granted provisional accreditation status to KCPS in recognition of the academic gains made by KCPS students. [9] In the 2014–2015 school year, KCPS has 13 schools which met the state standard for full accreditation, and another eight which met the standard for provisional accreditation. [10]
Missouri v. Jenkins is a case decided by the United States Supreme Court. On June 12, 1995, the court, in a 5–4 decision, overturned a district court ruling that required the state of Missouri to correct de facto racial inequality in schools by funding salary increases and remedial education programs.
In the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s KCMSD closed at least 30 buildings. Some buildings were sold, some demolished, and some abandoned. [11] In 2010 district superintendent John Covington submitted a plan calling for the closure of 29 of the district's remaining 61 schools. [12] During that year almost half of the KCMO schools closed. By that year many students, instead of attending district schools, attended charter schools, private schools, parochial schools, and schools in suburban school districts. As of 2010 the school district had less than 18,000 students, half of its enrollment in 2000 and 25% of its peak population in the 1960s. [13]
In November 2007, the voters of the Independence Public School District and the Kansas City, Missouri School District voted for seven schools (one high school, one middle school, and five elementary schools) to be taken over by the Independence School District. [14] Victor Callahan, a state senator, supported the annexation and said that he hoped that KCMSD would disappear via annexations within a 10-year span. [15] The teachers' union of Kansas City opposed the move. [16] Gwendolyn Grant, the head of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, supported the move; she said it would make the KCMSD school board more racially homogeneous and therefore reduce tensions within the school board. [17] In November 2007 84% of voting residents within Independence and 66% of voting residents within Kansas City approved the transfer. Jim Hinson, the superintendent of the Independence district, believed that the KCMO district fought the annexation because it was a "pride issue" and because the KCMO district feared that other parts of the district could secede. [18]
In April 2008 the Kansas City Missouri School District Buildings Corp. sued to receive a declaratory judgment on the value of the Independence buildings. [19] In July 2008 Missouri Commissioner of Education D. Kent King asked for KCMSD to give up the schools. [20] During that month a judge ruled that Independence had a right to control the seven transferred schools and the closed Anderson Campus. [21] In August 2008 the Independence School District wired more than $12.8 million dollars to the Kansas City, Missouri district. The building transfer was completed. [22]
In 2014, KCPS re-opened Hale Cook Elementary School at 7302 Pennsylvania Ave. in the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City. This was in large part due to the grassroots effort by the Friends of Hale Cook community organization. [23] The school had been mothballed since 2009. Hale Cook launched the school year with 108 students in pre-K through 2nd grade and will expand one grade every year until 6th grade. [24]
The same summer, KCPS also re-opened Central Middle School at 3611 E. Linwood Boulevard and Northeast Middle School at 4904 Independence Avenue as neighborhood schools serving 7th graders. The schools will expand to include 8th graders in 2015. [25]
In addition, KCPS expanded its pre-K program by opening a second Early Learning Center, Richardson, at 3515 Park Ave. [26]
Kansas City Public Television (KCPT) was signed on for the first time as Kansas City School District (KCSD), which owned the station until 1971. The school district put the license on the market in 1971. A group of civic leaders formed Public Television 19 and bought the license. The station relaunched in January 1972 as KCPT. That fall, it began broadcasting PBS shows in color for the first time.
Dr. Mark T. Bedell joined Kansas City Public Schools as Superintendent on July 1, 2016.
Interim Superintendent Allan Tunis was named to the position on June 11, 2015. He was chosen by the Board of KCPS to maintain a focus on increasing individual student achievement in every KCPS school through academic best practices, top-flight employees, sound management, effective partnerships and public engagement.
Dr. R. Stephen Green was superintendent until June 2015. He was officially named to the position on April 2, 2012, after being interim superintendent since August 2011. [27] On Wednesday, May 13, 2015, Dr. Green was announced as the sole finalist for superintendent of Dekalb County School District in Atlanta, Georgia. He will stay at the helm of the Kansas City Public Schools until 30 June 2015.
Dr. John Covington was superintendent from 2009 until his resignation in August 2011. [28]
Anthony Amato was superintendent from July 2006 to January 2008. [29]
Bernard Taylor was superintendent from at least May 2003 until 2005, when the school board declined to renew his contract. [30] [31]
Benjamin E. Demps Jr. was superintendent from August 2, 1999, until sometime before June 2003. [32]
J. B. Bradley was elected the first as first superintendent in 1867 and also acted as a teacher for upper level students. [3]
All schools are in the City of Kansas City, Missouri. [33]
Neighborhood
Special Options School
Signature
High schools
Elementary and middle schools
Middle schools
Primary schools
Primary and alternative schools
Fort Bend Independent School District, also known as Fort Bend ISD or FBISD, is a school district based in Sugar Land, Texas. It operates 86 schools in Fort Bend County It is the 5th most diverse school district in Texas and is the 43rd largest district in the United States.
The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) is the public school district for the city of Berkeley, California, United States. The district is managed by the Superintendent of Schools, and governed by the Berkeley Board of Education, whose members are elected by voters. Its administrative offices are located in the old West Campus main building at 2020 Bonar Street, on the corner of Bonar and University Avenue.
The West Orange Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in West Orange in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with Interim Superintendent Dr. Danielle S. Battle. The system has an active enrollment of 54,956 students, attending a total of 103 school sites: 50 elementary schools, 15 middle schools, 21 high schools, four single-gender academies and 13 charter schools. The school system also supports two alternative schools for middle and/or high school students, two community schools, and an adult learning center.
Pulaski County Special School District No. 1 (PCSSD) is one of four public school districts in Pulaski County, Arkansas—along with the Little Rock School District, the North Little Rock School District, and the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District—accredited by the Arkansas Department of Education. PCSSD has its headquarters in Sweet Home, an unincorporated area near southeastern Little Rock; the headquarters has a Little Rock postal address.
Independence Public School District is a school district headquartered in Independence, Missouri, United States. The district serves most of Independence and Sugar Creek, as well as Blue Summit.
Columbus City Schools, formerly known as Columbus Public Schools, is the official school district for the city of Columbus, Ohio, and serves most of the city. The district has 46,686 students enrolled, making it the largest school district in the state of Ohio as of June 2021. At its peak during the 1971 school year the district served 110,725 students.
The Arapahoe County School District No. 6, more commonly known as Littleton Public Schools (LPS), is a school district in Littleton, Colorado which serves several communities within the southern Denver metropolitan area. It is governed by a five-member Board of Education, and administered by a superintendent and six executives. Its headquarters, the Education Services Center, is located in Downtown Littleton. It is the fifteenth largest school district in Colorado. LPS operates 11 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, several alternative programs, a preschool, and two charter schools.
The Grand Rapids Public Schools is a public school district serving Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) or Special School District Number 1 is a public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis Public Schools enrolls 36,370 students in public primary and secondary schools. The district administers about one hundred public schools including forty-five elementary schools, seven middle schools, seven high schools, eight special education schools, eight alternative schools, nineteen contract alternative schools, and five charter schools. With authority granted by the state legislature, the school board makes policy, selects the superintendent, and oversees the district's budget, curriculum, personnel, and facilities. Students speak ninety different languages at home and most school communications are printed in English, Hmong, Spanish, and Somali.
Topeka USD 501, also known as Topeka Public Schools, is a public unified school district headquartered in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It is one of four school districts that serve the city of Topeka. Serving 13,430 students in the 2019-2020 school year, the district comprises 5 high schools, 6 middle schools, 15 elementary schools, and 7 other schools focused on serving other Pre-K-12 students. It has the highest enrollment of all school districts in Shawnee County. Topeka Public Schools is widely known for its role in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case.
The South San Francisco Unified School District is a school district in northern San Mateo County, California, serving the cities of South San Francisco, a small portion of San Bruno, and the Serramonte district of Daly City.
The Provo City School District is a school district in Provo, Utah, United States, which has boundaries that almost entirely coincide with those of the city, except for one small portion.
The 1968 Kansas City riot occurred in Kansas City, Missouri, in April 1968. Kansas City became one of 37 cities in the United States to be the subject of rioting after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The rioting in Kansas City did not erupt on April 4, like other cities of the United States affected directly by the assassination, but rather on April 9 after local events within the city.
East High School is a comprehensive high school located at 1924 Van Brunt Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of the Kansas City Public Schools.
The Great Falls Public Schools is a public school district which covers the city limits of Great Falls, Montana, in the United States. As of March 2010, it was the second-largest school district in the state of Montana, and the third-largest employer in the city of Great Falls.
Wichita USD 259 is a public unified school district headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States. The district includes most of the cities of Wichita, Bel Aire, Eastborough, and Kechi.
Normandy Schools Collaborative is a public school district serving 23 municipalities in northern St. Louis County, Missouri. The district operates one comprehensive high school which includes an alternative education program, five grade 1-8 elementary schools, and one early learning center. The district is named for Normandy, Missouri, one of the primary municipalities served by the district. The Missouri Board of Education voted to end the school district on June 30, 2014. It lost state accreditation that year for poor academic performance An appointed board replaced the elected board, and the district became a new entity called the “Normandy Schools Collaborative.” The state had direct oversight of the schools. The District was featured on an episode of NPR's This American Life that aired on July 31, 2015.
The Kirkwood R-7 School District is a public school district headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri.
Kent County Public Schools (KCPS) is a school district headquartered in Rock Hall, Maryland. It operates public schools in Kent County, where it is the sole school district.