The Star Staff: Public schools diverse and growing

Just as the Kansas City area sprawls over varied communities, its school districts range from large and urban to small and suburban.

Listed below: Some of the area’s larger districts:

The Kansas City School District celebrated in 2003 the end of a 27-year-old desegregation case. The return to local control was due to gains in student achievement and instruction. The district has begun a high school reform program called Achievement First at four neighborhood schools, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a four-year, $6.1 million grant to help implement the initiative.

The district offers a diverse group of schools, including French immersion and African-centered magnet schools. Several elementary schools have been named among Missouri’s most improved. One of the district’s top elementary schools, McCoy, became the first school in Missouri to offer an in-house dental and medical clinic. 

Lincoln College Preparatory Academy is considered one of the top public schools in the state and ranked 393rd out of 804 on Newsweek magazine’s list of top high schools in the United States based on strength of advanced placement and International Baccalaureate programs. The district is expected this summer to retain provisional accreditation from the Missouri Board of Education.

Contact: 1211 McGee St., Kansas City, Mo. 64106; (816) 418-7000; www.kcmsd.k12.mo.us

An alternative to traditional public schools in Kansas City are the charter schools that operate within the boundaries of the Kansas City School District.

Charter schools receive state money but are not tied to a district and are run by individual school boards. Many were created by parents and school activists. Most are sponsored by local colleges.

Kansas City charters serve students from the elementary grades through high school and have themes ranging from traditional to alternative education. One is a French-language immersion school.

Contact: The Learning Exchange, (816) 751-4100

The North Kansas City School District offers an International Baccalaureate program, with the first class graduating in 2004. This year the district also had four National Merit scholarship program winners, five national board certified teachers and championship academic teams.

This year the district received the Missouri Commissioner’s Award of Excellence for Professional Development and has been recognized for its library media center.

The district is fully accredited, and all three high schools are designated A-plus schools, which means their graduates qualify for two years of tuition for any community college or vocational school in Missouri.

For the 2004-05 school year the district will have air conditioning in all of its facilities. The district has begun planning for growth, with talk of a new high school opening in 2008.

Contact: 2000 N.E. 46th St., Kansas City, Mo. 64116; (816) 413-5000; www.nkcsd.k12.mo.us

Burgeoning enrollment has been a challenge for the Lee’s Summit district. A third high school, Lee’s Summit West, will open for the 2004-05 year.

The school and an adjacent alternative school were built with money from a $67 million bond issue passed in 2002. That bond money also paid for improvements to three elementary schools and technology upgrades.

A $25 million bond passed in April will pay for construction of a 16th elementary school at the historic Longview Show Horse Arena, plus renovations and additions at two middle schools, technology and transportation upgrades and general building improvements. About $2 million will help build an early childhood center. The rest of the bond money will pay for school additions, renovations and maintenance.

Passage of a property tax increase of 59 cents on each $100 of assessed value saved the district this year from cutting $12 million from an already tight budget. Levy money will help the district through an ongoing state budget crisis.

Despite crowding, the district has maintained high academic performance. Its schools are among the most improved and post high average scores on MAP tests.

Contact: 600 S.E. Miller St., Lee’s Summit, Mo. 64063; (816) 986-1000; www.leesummit.k12.mo.us

Passage of a levy increase of 94 cents on each $100 assessed value in February 2003 helped the district protect classrooms and staff members from the state’s revenue crisis during 2003-04. In addition, school-building budgets were reduced 10 percent and some purchases were delayed.

Additions to elementary schools last year allowed the district to fulfill its promise of a full-day kindergarten option. Most parents have opted for the full-day program, which has continued this year.

This year the district, which has been recognized the last two years for outstanding performance on statewide tests, has opened an alternative school. It includes an adult literacy program and an early child care component to help teenage parents.

The district has bought three pieces of property in areas where tremendous population growth is expected in the next 10 years.

Contact: 1801 N.W. Vesper St., Blue Springs, Mo. 64015; (816) 224-1300; www.bssd.net

Independence is known for successfully implementing programs, including school-based day care, establishing neighborhood schools as hubs for social services, a joint internship program with University of Missouri education students and Parents as Teachers. The district is accredited with distinction by the state.

In 2004, the district began reassessing the alignment of its middle school grades into three separate single-grade centers. Any decision for change is not expected before 2005.

The community passed a 20-cent levy increase and a $27 million bond issue in April 2003 to improve building maintenance, repairs and security.

Contact: 218 N. Pleasant Ave., Independence, Mo. 64050; (816) 521-2700; www.indep.k12.mo.us

Park Hill spends about $6,600 a pupil with an average student-teacher ratio of 17-to-1. Almost 80 percent of Park Hill graduates go on to higher education.

This district annually receives the state’s Distinction in Performance because of consistent top scores on an annual performance review.

Teacher Kelly McNabb was one of six finalists for the Missouri Teacher of the Year award. Hawthorn Principal Teresa Tulipana is the National Distinguished Principal for Missouri.

Contact: 7703 N.W. Barry Road, Kansas City, Mo. 64153; (816) 741-1521; www.parkhill.k12.mo.us

Although enrollment has not changed much, the Raytown district is experiencing a demographic change in its student population. Improving cultural awareness in the classrooms and on the administrative level has continued to be an issue for the school board. The district this year implemented a series of initiatives, including before- and after-school tutoring and Saturday school, to improve student performance and raise scores on standardized state tests.

Installation of mobile computer labs at elementary and middle schools was completed this year. Last year the district upgraded its telephone system.

In 2001 the Raytown district received the state’s highest level of accreditation for academic performance, but this year because of declining test scores it struggled to meet annual performance goals.

Contact: 10500 E. 60th Terrace, Raytown, Mo. 64133; (816) 268-7000; www.raytown.k12.mo.us

The district has earned the state’s Distinction in Performance award three years in a row. Liberty has also earned a perfect score on its accreditation review by the state the last two years.

Liberty High School is an A-plus school.

At the start of the 2004 school year, Liberty opened a second junior high school. Two new elementary schools are expected to open in 2005 and 2006. Land also has been purchased to build another high school.

Contact: 650 Conistor St., Liberty, Mo. 64068; (816) 415-5300; www.liberty.k12.mo.us

Enrollment: 7,478, Schools: 16, Schools: 16

The district celebrated its centennial in 2002 as the state’s first consolidated school district. The fully accredited district has been involved in community efforts to try to strengthen both the economy of its south Kansas City community and the district’s financial status. The community passed a $19.9 million bond issue in April 2003 to upgrade buildings. The construction of new media centers, science labs and other projects will begin this summer.

Contact: 9000 Old Santa Fe Road, Kansas City, Mo. 64138; (816) 316-7000; www.schoolweb.missouri.edu/hickman.k12.mo.us

Belton is the largest school district in Cass County. Its schools include the Belton Ozanam Southland Cooperative, better known as BOSCO. It serves area children with behavior disorders.

A $14 million bond issue passed in 2001 has paid for the construction and renovation of facilities, including a new high school Freshman Center, and remodeled media centers at Yeokum Middle School and the high school.

The district recently April 6, 2004 passed a 60-cent levy increase to help offset losses in state funds. The levy increase is expected to generate about $3.1 million annually to help maintain personnel, programs and small class sizes.

Contact: 110 W. Walnut St., Belton, Mo. 64012; (816) 348-1730 or (816) 348-1731; www.beltonschools.org

This fully accredited district, which was recognized in 2003 by the governor as a district achieving “distinction in performance,” serves part of south Kansas City as well as Grandview.

Voters recently passed a 45-cent levy increase and a $9.5 million bond issue to help offset state funding cuts and to improve science labs, add classrooms, improve infrastructure for technology and other projects.

Contact: 724 Main St., Grandview, Mo. 64030; (816) 316-5000; www.csd4.k12.mo.us