KCK’s new school maps switch things up for over 1,000 students. See the changes
It’s official — New Stanley Elementary School will get to stay where it is.
At least for now.
Public school officials in Kansas City, Kansas approved a districtwide realignment plan that will change where more than 1,000 students go in the 2027-28 school year.
But in the final plan approved during Tuesday’s board meeting, the district decided the small elementary school in KCK’s Argentine neighborhood, and its 250 students, will stay put.
The final decision came after school parents and staff lobbied for Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools to rethink its plans of combining the campus with two others into a newer, larger school.
Officials in an October community meeting told school community members that New Stanley could be considered for consolidation despite not being named among the projects planned for the $180 million bond issue that voters approved last year. Noble Prentis and Silver City elementary schools, which will still be combined, were included in earlier bond issue discussions.
New Stanley families said the district didn’t consult them before moving the decision forward and that disrupting the campus would negatively alter the quality of learning and the close-knit community the school now has.
Aldo Diaz, a fourth grader at New Stanley, spoke up to defend the school ahead of the board’s vote. He said he felt safe in his smaller classrooms and that his teacher, Miss Spencer, always made time for him.
And, he said he worried he wouldn’t be able to see any of his other favorite teachers if the campus was relocated.
“A new school is not good for my New Stanley family,” Diaz said.
Other community members had signed up to speak ahead of the meeting but ultimately decided not to.
The board unanimously approved the revised plan that included keeping New Stanley where it is.
Rachel Russell, a member of the board, cautioned residents that the district taking a pause on closing New Stanley doesn’t guarantee it will stay there forever — plans could always change in a year, she said during the meeting.
“With that being said, I will say that I don’t want to mislead or misguide anyone,” Russell said. “I think the purpose in changing is to take an intentional pause.” She also commended how community members advocated for their school, and said they were respectful in the way they went about it.
Board member Wanda Brownlee Paige said the district has to improve its communication skills and find new ways to gather data on what the community wants ahead of large decisions like this.
Changes
Although New Stanley won’t be affected right now, the district estimates the other boundary changes it is moving forward with will change where 243 incoming ninth graders, 346 incoming sixth graders and 617 elementary students are enrolled.
The district is redrawing its maps and changing which middle and high schools its elementary campuses will feed into to even out enrollment numbers among campuses.
Some schools, like Wyandotte High School, are over capacity while others, like F.L. Schlagle High School, can take more students.
Campus changes include:
- Consolidating Noble Prentis and Silver City into a new school;
- Building new campuses for Argentine and Central middle schools;
- Building an addition to Sumner Academy;
- Demolishing Silver City Elementary, which is where the new Argentine Middle School will stand.
Feeder pattern changes include:
- Quindaro Elementary will feed into Gloria Willis Middle School and Schlagle High School instead of Carl Bruce Middle School and Wyandotte High.
- Grant Elementary students will go to Central Middle School or Carl Bruce instead of Rosedale Middle School. Then they’ll go to Wyandotte High instead of J.C. Harmon High School.
- Whittier Elementary School students will still feed into Central Middle School but will then go to J.C. Harmon instead of Wyandotte High.
- Douglass Elementary students will feed into Carl Bruce Middle School, not Central.
