Metro Kansas City School Districts (Independence, Lee's Summit: attorneys, house, best schools)

[kcmo]

I’m starting this thread because I think it will come in handy for people that are interested in moving to KC and want a true idea of the lay of the land when it comes to schools. This can be a “go-to” thread for questions about metro KC school districts on both sides of the state line. Hopefully people will find this thread via search engines etc.

Here is a map of metro KC’s school districts:



The map does show reading proficiencies and can be used as a basic guide, but each district should be looked at more closely as to the actual schools you will be near or the demographics of a specific part of a school district. Some districts may have a wider variety of demographics that might slightly bring down stats, but it doesn’t mean you can’t still get a just as good of an education there as any district.

The main reason I want to do this is to address one huge pet peeve of mine (and many others).

All over the internet, people post on blogs and forums about metro KC Schools to people asking about moving to metro KC. People are told to stay out of the MO side if you have kids. Don’t let your kids go to schools in MO. The MO schools are horrible etc. It’s all over the internet. Move to the Kansas side, if you have kids, you must move to the Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission and Olathe School Districts. Nearly all comments like this are from suburban Johnson County, KS residents that really don’t even know anything about the MO side of KC.

This is simply not true.

First off:

School Districts serving Kansas City, MO.

Here is a basic map of KCMO and the districts that cover it.



Kansas City, MO is home to one of the worst urban school district in the county. There is no getting around it. The KCMOSD is simply a mess. Even though there are some good schools in the district, the district overall has some major issues. The district includes all of the poorest parts of the urban core and those that run the district have run it into the ground because of race and political issues. For the most part, stay away unless you know the schools you will be dealing with are ok. If you want to live in the nicer areas of urban KCMO rather than the suburbs, I would highly recommend many of the private schools. Urban KCMO has some great private schools, many of which are attended by suburban children. Urban KCMO also has many charter schools to choose from. KCMO has some amazing urban areas where many families live and most of those families could easily choose to move to the burbs if they wanted to, but like living in the city. So, please don’t let the KCMO School district keep you from living in the city if that is the lifestyle you enjoy.

But what if you do want a more suburban setting? You can also live in the city limits of KC and be in some of the best public school districts in the state. As you can see in the map above, many districts cover the city. The “Northland”, which is the fastest growing area in all of metro KC, has many fine districts to choose from. Liberty, Park Hill, NKC and Platte County are all great suburban school districts. The Northland, or Kansas City, North is the city of KCMO, but it's a suburban area.

Here is the Northland. Kansas City is the primary city in this growing suburban area, but other cities include Liberty, Gladstone, NKC, Parkville and Riverside.


Areas to the east are served by Raytown, Independence and Lee’s Summit districts, all are good districts as well. The southern districts have more “urban” problems than the others I just mentioned. Center and Hickman Mills both have some urban baggage, but nothing that can’t be overcome. Not everybody can afford to live in the Northland or other newer suburbs. The Grandview district which serves the Martin City and Red Bridge areas of KCMO is a good district as well although not in the same league as the Northland, Blue Springs or Lee’s Summit districts. Chances are, if you can afford it, the Northland is going to give you the best schools, again some of the best in the state and most of those areas will have a KCMO address. So it is OK to not only live in Missouri, but you can even live in Kansas City, MO and be in a top notch school district.

Suburban Jackson County, MO

Other districts on the MO side include the Blue Springs, Fort Osage, Lee’s Summit, Grain Valley, Raymore/Peculiar, Belton and others. All of which are fine districts. Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs are probably the top two, mostly because they are very large suburban districts that offer a lot to students and the overall demographics are going to be higher.

Now that I have gotten the fact that there are many good school districts on the Missouri side off my chest....

On to the Kansas side.

Johnson County, KS

JoCo has very good schools and is covered well by the Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission and Olathe school districts. All three are consistently top ranked districts. Blue Valley covers one of the Midwest’s wealthiest areas and Shawnee Mission and Olathe cover pretty average suburban areas. JoCo also has the Desoto, Gardner and Spring Hill districts which are more rural.



Wyandotte County, KS

I don’t know much about districts in WyCo, Maybe some locals and help out with this? I have heard that the KCK district is much better than the KCMO district. I have also heard that the districts in the west part of the county are ok.

[luzianne]

I moved back to Johnson County when I had kids specifically because I wanted my kids in the Shawnee Mission School District. You can say all you want that Missouri school districts are just as good, but Shawnee Mission has been top rated for YEARS and the truth is, the Kansas City, Missouri school district is NOT good at all. I don't know anything about Liberty, Lee's Summit and other areas. They are probably okay. But Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley always get top ratings.

My kids happened to go to Shawnee Mission East. From kindergarten through 12th grade, my kids went the kids of parents who could well afford to send their kids to private schools (attorneys, doctors, etc), but DIDN'T because the public schools are that good. There are graduates from Shawnee Mission East each year who go to Harvard, Princeton, and other Ivy League schools. And every year there are several kids who have a perfect score on their ACTs.

There is a REASON people say Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley are excellent school districts.

The numbers speak for themselves. Compare Kansas City Missouri school district: SchoolMatters

with Shawnee Mission SchoolMatters

and Blue Valley http://www.schoolmatters.com/schools...ley%20%20%2CKS

KCMO school district's numbers are PATHETIC in comparison. Center school district is pathetic too. I don't have time to search through all the various school district and I think maybe there are some that are okay. But a lot aren't. And we already know Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley have a history of excellence.

[Samantha S]

Easy there luzianne. kcmo acknowledged in his original post that the KCMO public school district is not good. And compared to Blue Valley, SH Mssn or Olathe, there's no contest.

You missed the point entirely.

His point is that there are other districts serving the KC metro area that are NOT on that same low level as KCMOSD. Liberty and Lee's Summit are both fine districts as far as I know and it looks like there may be others that rank as well.

kcmo - I'm interested in the source of your maps and statistics. Do you have a link?

One note about the Desoto district: it's true that overall the district is more rural, but because it stretches into the city of Shawnee, the stats can be deceptive.

Stats in general can be deceptive - and can be presented quite subjectively - which is why I'm interested in your source.

It's also true that what makes a district "great" is sometimes subjective. There are pros and cons to having a lot of wealth in a school district, as there are pros and cons to urban vs suburban vs rural. At the end of the day, you have to decide what's best for your kids and your family.

Like luzianne, we chose what we felt was best and that was JoCo. But I do agree that one need not live on the KS side to find good schools.

Because we are currently considering moving within the county - One advantage I believe we have in JoCo is that we can live anywhere and not wonder if we are moving in or out of a good school or district. They are all good. On the MO side, it is something that has to be considered, as kcmo pointed out. Not that good schools can't be found - but that more care must be taken when making the decision.

[kcmo]

Did you not read my post? Let me help you:

Kansas City, MO is home to one of the worst urban school districts in the county. There is no getting around it. The KCMOSD is simply a mess. Even though there are some good schools in the district, the district overall has some major issues.

My point was that there are many great districts on the MO side and the much of KCMO (northland, far east etc) is covered by great school districts. Sure, Shawnee Mission is a great district.

So is Park Hill, Liberty, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit etc. That's my point...

[kcmo]

Samantha, I couldn't agree more.

I know that the Desoto district covers much of the growing K-7 corridor, so it probably has many rural areas that throw off the stats a bit and it's one of those disticts that is changing from rural to suburban so it will have some growing pains for a while. But I'm sure it's a great district.

That map was from marc.org

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I know that the Desoto district covers much of the growing K-7 corridor, so it probably has many rural areas that throw off the stats a bit and it's one of those disticts that is changing from rural to suburban so it will have some growing pains for a while. But I'm sure it's a great district.

About 10 years ago it was ranked #1 in the state (again, whatever that means!) but for what it was worth, it attracted A LOT of people to the area in a very short time. We came in just before the area exploded. Within 2 years, our house had appreciated to the point that if we had moved 2 years later, we would not have been able to afford our own house. (I thought my husband was crazy for wanting to move here. Now I'm glad we did - when we did!)

But with exploding growth did come issues within the school district. I think it's still highly ranked, and I'm still quite pleased with it. But the fast growth has presented some challenges. It's been the biggest point of debate in our discussions about moving. (If the bond issue had not passed in November to ease the overcrowding, we would have moved for sure.) Shawnee Mission or Blue Valley have a few things to offer that would be pros - but there would be some cons as well to switching.

Sorry ... I'm getting off topic ...

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

His point is that there are other districts serving the KC metro area that are NOT on that same low level as KCMOSD. Liberty and Lee's Summit are both fine districts as far as I know and it looks like there may be others that rank as well.

.

Isn't that exactly what I said?

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Did you not read my post? Let me help you:

Kansas City, MO is home to one of the worst urban school districts in the county. There is no getting around it. The KCMOSD is simply a mess. Even though there are some good schools in the district, the district overall has some major issues.

My point was that there are many great districts on the MO side and the much of KCMO (northland, far east etc) is covered by great school districts. Sure, Shawnee Mission is a great district.

So is Park Hill, Liberty, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit etc. That's my point...

And I didn't say anything other than what you just said. I said KCMO school district sucks, and it does. I also said there may be others like Liberty and Lee's Summit that are fine. But I pointed out that that Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley are KNOWN for their excellence.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

About 10 years ago it was ranked #1 in the state (again, whatever that means!) but for what it was worth, it attracted A LOT of people to the area in a very short time. We came in just before the area exploded. Within 2 years, our house had appreciated to the point that if we had moved 2 years later, we would not have been able to afford our own house. (I thought my husband was crazy for wanting to move here. Now I'm glad we did - when we did!)

But with exploding growth did come issues within the school district. I think it's still highly ranked, and I'm still quite pleased with it. But the fast growth has presented some challenges. It's been the biggest point of debate in our discussions about moving. (If the bond issue had not passed in November to ease the overcrowding, we would have moved for sure.) Shawnee Mission or Blue Valley have a few things to offer that would be pros - but there would be some cons as well to switching.

Sorry ... I'm getting off topic ...

Well, that area is going to continue to grow, so you got in just in time. Western Lenexa and Shawnee are really nice areas. We drive clear out there to use the biking trail that runs from SMP to the KS river. I can't imagine the schools not being top notch. I always found it odd how the Desoto district covers that area.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Well, that area is going to continue to grow, so you got in just in time. Western Lenexa and Shawnee are really nice areas. We drive clear out there to use the biking trail that runs from SMP to the KS river. I can't imagine the schools not being top notch. I always found it odd how the Desoto district covers that area.

Desoto district has always been confusing. When I was in grade school, I had a brother eight years old than me who was in high school. We lived out on Midland Drive across from Tomahawk Country Club. I went to a Shawnee Mission district grade school. He went to Desoto High School. This was in the 60s.