What's the Best School in the Kansas City School District

D., I decided 2 years ago to remove my son from the KCMO school district. And this year when my daughter went to the 6th grade and KCMO decided to do neighborhood schools, I removed her as well. They are both attending Imagine Renaissance Academy. It is a charter school. My son has gone there since 6th grade and he is in 8th now. I love the school. They really take an interest in how the kids are doing. If the kids aren't doing so well, they will call and find out if there are things going on at home that may be contributing to it or brainstorm with you on how to resolve any issues. I have not been disappointed since putting my son there and my daughter loves the school as well. The teachers are a bit more strict, but I think in some instances the KCMO school district was too lenient. YOu said you live south, but they provide transportation, so give them a call. ###-###-####.

All the KC public schools are pretty bad. If you can't afford private try looking up the magnet schools on the district site. They are part of the public school system so they are free, but they are run seperately and are accreddited. My neice goes to one and it is fantastic. If you can do private the Catholic schools are the best way to go. They are the most affordable and are usually well run. Another good private school is Calvary Lutheran. Good Luck!
B.

Unfortunately, none. The city lost its accredidation, and the schools are bad. I have worked with children in the community a long time (10+) years and have not found one that I would ever consider sending my children to. Your best bet it to find a Private School within the city. Although many are religious in name, children and families from ALL religious backgrounds are welcome. Also, there is a Private Montessori downtown off of Linwood (I think). The only bad thing about Private...is that it is expensive. We have to live in KC due to our jobs, but we moved as far out as possible in order to send our kids to a different district.

I moved here from California and I heard all the terrible things about KC school district and sadly that judgment forced me to put my kids in Raytown schools. This made our life very difficult. My kids attended from November there until May when they discovered I did not live in that distric any longer and forced me to uproot my children for the second time that school year when there was only 3 weeks left of school. I guess the point of all of this is that any school district does things that not everyone likes.

That being said, I live in Independence and in the KC school district. My children have attended North Rock Creek, Sugar Creek and Mount Washington. Do I have some issues with the school distric, Absolutely. I think it takes to long in their IEP process and I had issues in that regard. But, I have been impressed with the schools themselves. They do lots of field trips and they do not mind active parents even in the higher grades. I have seen some wonderful teachers.

Also, in light of this annexation, I have had to learn about this accredidation. KC did loose their accretidation, however they have worked hard to earn it back. And from what I understand Independence district is on the verge of loosing theirs. Kansas City schools are under the microscope as a result of loosing their accretidation so they need to keep things better than average.

My advice is to personally tour the schools you are considering. Meet the teachers and the principals and make an informed decision. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions. Just to be clear, I would like to move out of the district as well but not before I am ready. For now, these schools will work. You may find the same thing.

Hi D..

I hate to say it, but I agree that the KCMO public schools are not an option. But private schools were not an option for us either due to the high cost. We live in the Brookside area because we love it, but schools are always an issue. We send our boys to Brookside Charter School. Like the magnet schools someone mentioned, they are run by public money, but run by a separate, private charter. We have been happy so far. They are currently k-6, but I hear talk that they will have 7th and 8th soon. Both of my boys are ahead of their grade academically, and I love the "community" feel of this small school. Good luck - I know what a difficult issue this is!

Hi D.,
I am a mother of 5. Two in high school and two in elementary school. I live in Kansas City and the school district for the area is Liberty Schools. They are the best around. We moved here from Arizona and did some research on school districts before we came here. The Liberty school district stood out as the best.
Hope I could help.
M. G

Jami, what part of Kansas City do you live in? We have to live in Kansas City as well because of my husband's job. We live in South KC, which is nice. But it's expensive.

M.

Hi D., not sure from your request if you mean the KC School District or what, we live in KC North and there are several good school districts up north - Platte, North Kansas City and Park Hill. I understand that the KC School district is in bad shape and would'nt send my child there if I had a choice. If you are able to move north or south to get into a different school district I would. There is affordable housing to be had up north and out south. Good Luck.

Hi D.,
I just want to clarify...do you mean the Kansas City School District alone, or are you considering private schools or schools in the suburbs? I know that Lee's Summit Community Christian school is phenominal (but expensive), and my kids go to public school now in Blue Springs and it is wonderful!

*edit* p.s. - there are MANY homes for sale in Blue Springs right now -- there are three on my street alone!!! My kids go to Cordill-Mason, which has been recognized nationally as a top school. They learn a LOT there, and all of the teachers are fabulous! We really feel blessed by this!

Take care,
S.