Dozens of acceptance letters to KCK’s prestigious Sumner Academy mailed in error
Dozens of acceptance letters to the prestigious Sumner Academy of Arts & Science in Kansas City, Kansas, were mailed out in error, triggering a broader review of the applications that were denied or approved for admission, according to the school district.
A filing error caused the district to send incorrect letters out to about 41 families, said Edwin Birch, a spokesman for Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools.
As of late Friday afternoon, the district had decided to allow any student who received an acceptance letter to attend Sumner. They are also working to contact the families that were affected by the error.
Earlier in the day, Birch said the first order of business was to review what exactly happened and figure out which students are eligible for admission to Sumner and which ones are not. That review was to determine accuracy before the district would begin reaching out to those families affected and advise on the process moving forward.
“It’s an issue on our end, and we apologize,” Birch said, adding: “We apologize for the stress and the angst that this has caused the parents who were impacted by this technical glitch. We will be contacting the families to make it right.”
Birch said a thorough review of how the error occurred would also be important toward ensuring the same mistake does not happen again.
“This shouldn’t have occurred, and we are committed to fixing it. And we apologize. And I want to thank the parents for expressing their feelings and thoughts on the situation. We respect and appreciate it, and we understand,” Birch said.
Sumner first opened its doors in 1905 as a racially segregated school for African American students and quickly gained a reputation for high academic success. Since 1978 it has operated as a magnet school within KCKPS with high academic standards for enrollment.
It has been ranked as the top public high school in the state for several consecutive years.
To be considered, students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0, with no failing classes in the preceding three semesters in English, reading, math, science or social studies. Also judged are performance on standardized tests for reading and math, and behavioral and attendance records.
About 1,100 of the district’s 23,000 students are enrolled at Sumner, according to state data.
The Star’s Sarah Ritter contributed to this report.
This story has been updated to include updated information from Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools.
This story was originally published March 8, 2024 at 2:23 PM.
