Kansas City USD 500, also known as Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

unified school district A unified school district (in the states of Arizona, California, Kansas and Oregon) or unit school district (in Illinois), in the United States of America, is a school district that generally includes and operates both primary schools (kindergarte ...

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, United States. It is the fifth largest public school system in Kansas in terms of student enrollment. It is considered a medium-sized district in the United States. As of 2023, the district has approximately 21,000 students enrolled in grades PreK & K-12. The district currently operates 5 high schools, 7 middle schools, 29 elementary schools, and 4 alternative schools, along with a number of additional educational and support facilities. The school district's 2024–2025 school year budget was $428,729,878. The district is also the only one in the nation to fully equip all of its buildings with SafeDefend an electronic alerting system that allows officials and staff to quickly respond to a crisis. At the touch of a button, it notifies law enforcement and first responders while activating lockdown features. KCKPS has its own police force, the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools Police Department (KCKPSPD), which was established in 2014 to provide police services for KCKPS schools. In 2022, Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) faced backlash over a proposal to spend nearly $6.8 million in federal COVID relief funds on cameras in classrooms. District officials argued the cameras would help address staff shortages by livestreaming and recording lessons for classrooms with long-term substitutes or unqualified teachers. However, the proposal drew strong opposition from parents, students, and teachers, who feared it would reduce in-person learning with qualified educators and create an intrusive surveillance environment. Teachers worried that relying on video lessons could harm student progress. Additionally, KCKPS continues to struggle with staffing issues, particularly in

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

, which has contributed to ongoing concerns about trust.

Board of education

The board of education has 7 members. Also, it controls the

Kansas City, Kansas Public Library Kansas City, Kansas Public Library (KCKPL) is the public library system of Kansas City, Kansas, headquartered in the Main Library. The library serves Wyandotte County, Kansas. It is governed by the Board of Education of Kansas City Kansas Publi ...

Schools

High schools: * J. C. Harmon High School * F. L. Schlagle High School * Washington High School *

Wyandotte High School Wyandotte High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It serves students in grades 9 to 12 and operated by the Kansas City USD 500 school district. The building itself is a historic and ...

Grades 8-12: *

Sumner Academy of Arts & Science Sumner Academy of Arts and Science is a magnet school in Kansas City, Kansas and is operated by the Kansas City USD 500 school district. Named for abolitionist Charles Sumner, it started in 1905 during a period of racial tension as a segregat ...

Middle Schools * Argentine * Arrowhead * Carl B. Bruce * Central * Eisenhower * Rosedale * Gloria Willis Elementary Schools * Banneker * Bertram Caruthers (Previously Hawthorne) * Lowell Brune * Central * Douglass * T. A. Edison * Emerson * John Fiske * Grant * Hazel Grove * Claude Huyck * John F. Kennedy * Lindbergh * McKinley * New Chelsea * New Stanley * Noble Prentis * M. E. Pearson * Quindaro * Frank Rushton * Silver City * Stony Point North * Stony Point South * Mark Twain * Eugene Ware * Welborn * West Park * Whittier * Frances Willard Preschools * KCK Early Childhood Center * Earl Watson, Jr. Early Childhood Center * Morse Early Childhood Center * North Central Office Early Childhood Center Alternative * Alfred Fairfax Academy * Bridges Wyandotte Academy * Juvenile Services Center * KVC Academy

History

2014: Launch of Diploma+

In 2014, the district introduced a new initiative called Diploma+. This program aims to ensure that every student graduates not only with a high school diploma but also with one of seven endorsements. These endorsements are designed to equip students with the skills and experiences they need for success in both higher education and careers in a global workforce. The seven possible endorsements for Diploma+ are: Achieving a minimum score of 21 on the ACT or 1060 on the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

. Completing a qualified internship or an industry-approved project. Earning the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

(IB) Diploma or completing the IB Career-Related Programme. Obtaining an industry-recognized certificate or credential. Gaining acceptance into the military. Completing at least one full year of college (18-30 credit hours). Developing an approved post-secondary transition plan. The Diploma+ initiative is part of a long-term effort to transform teaching and learning within KCKPS. It continues to be an integral part of the district’s curriculum today, reflecting a commitment to preparing students for success in both college and careers.

Demographics

As of the 2022-2023 school year, in its enrollment breakdown by ethnic group, 58.7% of its students were of

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

origin, of any race; 8.2% of the student population was of

Non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

ancestry; 29.9% of its students were

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, while

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

students comprised 6.8%, and Native Americans and

Pacific Islanders Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subreg ...

together comprised less than 1%.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools Web site

Enrollment Statistics

History of Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools
School districts in Kansas Education in Kansas City, Kansas Education in Wyandotte County, Kansas School districts in Wyandotte County, Kansas 1886 establishments in Kansas School districts established in 1886