Here’s a snapshot of just a few of the many outstanding secondary schools and districts in the metropolitan area and
some of the recognition they’ve received.

• The North Kansas City School District has a Distinguished Achievement Program that provides students with opportunities for advanced academic studies, community service, career internships and public recognition. The program’s goals include increasing the number and availability of challenging and rigorous courses and learning experiences, ensuring equity of access to advanced course work for all students, and empowering students to take ownership in developing challenges and creating their own knowledge. Middle school students receive recognition and a medallion at award ceremonies in the spring, while high school students can earn a Gold Medallion Honors Diploma or the International
Baccalaureate Diploma and recognition as Honor Graduates

• The Independence School District has been rewarded for its excellence in education in recent years, as indicated by
the district receiving the “Distinction in Performance” accreditation from the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education for 2006, 2007 and 2008. The school district’s focus is to provide an excellent learning opportunity for each student. It is committed to helping students achieve their dreams, to ensuring students’ futures, and to working with parents, business partners and city officials to make Independence a viable and cohesive community.

• Lee’s Summit Schools benefit from involved parents and a supportive community, which have been critical in the district’s ability to provide excellent secondary educational opportunities in an environment that’s conducive to effective
instruction and learning. Strong community involvement plays a big role in success being realized in the district’s three middle schools, three high schools, alternative secondary school and secondary technology academy. Recognized as one of the nation’s outstanding educational entities, the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District has consistently received School-Match’s “What Parents Want” Award for many years. The district also earned Missouri’s Distinction in Performance Award, the state’s highest recognition for academic achievement, exceeding the criteria for this prestigious award by earning a perfect score on the Missouri “performance indicators” every year since the program began.

• The Blue Springs School District has been the recipient of a perfect Annual Performance Report score from Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for eight consecutive years. Retaining that status might seem old hat, but the district takes seriously its task of providing a learning environment that nurtures student activities, parent nvolvement, staff professional development and academic achievement. The district’s Annual Performance Report score isn’t the only impressive standard: its student-teacher ratio is 18:1, more than 70 percent of its certified staff holds at least a master’s degree, its 2008 graduation rate was 93.9 percent, and more than 80 percent of those graduates entered a post-secondary institution. As part of its emphasis on lifelong learning, the Blue Springs School District sponsors a Community and Real Estate Education program that offers educational experiences for adults as well as school-aged children. Notably, the program taps into the expertise of district and community members and is one of the largest of its kind offered in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

• The Shawnee Mission School District includes seven middle schools, five high schools and one alternative high school. By some accounts the system could be considered to be financially challenged, ranking in the bottom 10 percent of school districts in terms of funding available per pupil, but this district makes high-quality education a top priority. More than 75 percent of its teachers have master’s and/or doctoral degrees, and it offers more than 50 Honors and Advanced Placement courses in a broad array of subjects, as well as a Signature Program that provides specialized areas of study to help high school students explore and prepare for careers. Once again, community involvement is key to success; the Shawnee Mission School District receives support from more than 200 businesses, civic groups, and government entities that participate in partnership programs providing financial support, equipment, event tutoring and mentoring. All this
district is doing must be right: Its students continue to surpasss their state and national peers on standardized tests.

• Blue Valley School District embraces the motto “Education Beyond Expectations.” By all accounts, the motto is an accurate reflection of the district’s quality. Blue Valley is the only Kansas school district with more than 5,500 students who can boast that all of its 2008 graduates met the Adequate Yearly Progress requirements outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act.

Despite its size—more than 20,000 students attend 31 schools—advanced placement and college credit classes, a Center for Advanced Professional Studies, an alternative high school and enrichment programs give students
ample opportunity to personalize their learning experience. Programs such as ACCESS House, which teaches independent living skills to disabled students, and the Wilderness Science Center, which offers hands-on environmental
education, highlight the district’s commitment to providing quality instruction across the education spectrum.

• The Olathe School District is committed to meeting the needs of individual students. It’s a lofty goal considering
the district has nearly 26,000 students in 45 schools. Academically, Olathe School District’s Adequate Yearly Progress shows improved student achievement and a graduation rate increase from 94.2 percent in 2006 to 94.6 in
2007, five points higher than the state average of 89.2.But the array of student recognition— from academic to extra curricular, community involvement to entrepreneurial— demonstrates that with programs in career planning, leadership
development, student-parent services, and English language learning, Olathe School District offers a complete learning
environment that encompasses more than academics.

In addition to the district’s educational offerings, it has the added advantage of being located in one of the country’s most desirable places to live and raise a family, as deemed by Money and Forbes magazines, respectively.

Big Challenges Remain

Some inner city schools are showing signs of overcoming historical obstacles.

Lincoln College Preparatory Academy prepares students in grades 6 through 12 for college. The school provides a comprehensive education to a multi-ethnic student body, employs talented professionals, and encourages the involvement
of parents and the community.

More than 90 percent of Lincoln graduates enroll in college annually. The school has a 10-star rating (out of 10
stars) by GreatSchools, a school-rating organization that provides school information, rates those schools nationwide
and gathers ratings from parents of students at each school they evaluate.

Also doing a solid job in the inner city is Center Senior High School, which has overcome a history of racial strife, changes in leadership, and the loss of great teachers, emerging as a school that represents true racial and cultural diversity.

The school now prides itself for its level of student, parent and staff participation. Parents of Center students give
the school five out of five possible stars in their GreatSchools assessment.