Six high-quality public school districts, private and faith-based options, vocational training and a nationally recognized university make Leavenworth education a regional highlight.

Elementary and secondary education here is unique in at least one sense: rather than a single large district, six medium-sized districts serve the area, all with legitimate credentials for delivering quality education.

Based in the largest community, Leavenworth USD 453 is the biggest district with approximately 3,300 students. Leavenworth operates six elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school. The community also hosts the military-based Ft. Leavenworth USD 207, which serves an additional 1,500 students.

In the growing southern part of the county, Basehor-Linwood School District serves approximately 2,100 students. Although growing rapidly, Basehor-Linwood operates three elementary schools, a middle and high school.

Close in size to these two are Lansing USD 469, with 1,700 students, and Tonganoxie USD 464, with 1,410 students. The smallest district in Leavenworth County is the Easton USD 449 program with 707 students.

Especially in the south, Leavenworth’s districts face growth pressures but also benefit from public support. Voters in Tonganoxie, for example, recently approved a $25.3 million bond issue. Basehor-Linwood is seeking voter approval for bonds to expand its facilities.

Leavenworth County is also home to three private schools, the Catholic Diocese Immaculata High School and Xavier Elementary, with a total of approximately 400 students. St. Paul Lutheran Elementary School lists 72 students.

Leavenworth also boasts an excellent special education cooperative involving the county’s public school districts.

Post-secondary education is one of the area’s real strengths. In Leavenworth, the University of Saint Mary was named by the prestigious Princeton Review as a “Best College in the Mid-west” for 2006. Saint Mary offers a four-year degree program in 25 cur-riculum areas and five master’s degree programs. Along with its Leavenworth Campus, Saint Mary operates in Overland Park and Kansas City, Kansas.

With a Leavenworth satellite, the Kansas City Kansas Community College offers more than 50 degree programs, including nursing, mortuary science, robotics, mental-health technology, banking, paralegal and travel-tourism.