Shawnee Mission Schools

[skim82]

With all this talk about school funding in Kansas...............  What are people's perception on the Shawnee Mission School District.  Would it be fair to say that SM schools are no longer one of the "elite" districts in the metro area?? 

[bahua]

Very simple rule: If people with money are moving away, the schools will be more poorly funded. To slow this effect, many districts grope for new funding by annexing unincorporated neighborhoods of recently liberated of emigrants.

It happens everywhere, and is one of the leading justifications of sprawl.

[KC0KEK]

So are people with money moving out of the SMSD?

[tat2kc]

Its a bit more complicated than "people with money moving out of SMSD."  This district, which is still very good, is located within the inner ring burbs, which are loosing population to southern Johnson county.  It is surounded by other districts, most notably Blue Valley and Olathe, DeSoto, and KCK, so they can't annex other neighborhoods.  The population served by SMSD is aging, so there are not as many kids.  The enrollment drop has nothing to do with the quality of the education, but rather with the demographics.

[dangerboy]

Cities can annex land because there are still unincorporated areas available.  The same isn't true for school districts.  There no remaining areas that haven't already been assigned to a school district.

The Shawnee Mission district hasn't lost its golden reputation yet, but it does have some big challenges.  They face declining enrollment, increasing poverty, increasing immgrants and non-English speakers, and a state legislature that is openly hostile to the county's schools.  The district really mirrors the neighborhoods it serves - aging inner suburbs begining to see flight to newer suburbs and the first signs of blight.

However, the district still has a solid academic reputation and rabidly committed parents.  They have a good chance at successfully managing the enrollment decline and shrinking tax base.  It will be important for them to continue closing unneeded schools, but it will be really interesting to see what happens when they need to close a high school...

The Independence and Raytown school districts are good examples of how to manage the transition from suburban to semi-urban environments, although they both have pretty stable enrollment.

[LenexatoKCMO]

I think that the SMSD may see a bit of a turnaround in enrollment here in the next few years.  Growth in JOCO is starting to shift to the West instead of South.  A lot of the new development likely to occur over the next several years will be in Western Lenexa and Shawnee.  People are starting to realize "hey why would I want to build a house halfway to Pittsburgh, KS when there is land available much closer in on the west side".  Some of this area was gobbled up in a shrewd move by the DeSoto district but a lot of it is in SMSD. 

[bahua]

It has everything to do with money, and that money comes from the constituents the school district serves. People are moving away, or more often, choosing not to move *to* the school district in question, in favor of farther-flung neighborhoods with new grass and excellent schools.

[LenexatoKCMO]

It actually has less to do with wealth of the population than might be percieved.  Most school district funding is based on student head count.  The reason SMSD has had "budget issues" is declining enrollment which translates to less state and federal funds; they are supporting the same infrastructure while receiving less per student funding.  SMSD also receives money from property taxes but that is very stable.  Growth in the Western part of the district should start to help offset the fact that a lot of the homes in the eastern part of the district are turning into empty nests. 

[dangerboy]

Doesn't look like there is all that much room for new housing in the district.  Isn't a lot of the remaining along I-435 already allocated for office parks and strip malls? 

http://www.smsd.org/Parents/Documents/shsd_map2004.pdf

[skim82]

Doesn't look like there is all that much room for new housing in the district. Isn't a lot of the remaining along I-435 already allocated for office parks and strip malls?

Um....kinda, but not really. 

Like LenexatoKCMO mentioned, a lot of growth is occuring along K-10 in Northwest Olathe, Western Lenexa, and Western Shawnee.  I personally believe that this is one of the faster growing parts of the metro, but it is overshadowed by the behemouth southern joco.  (at least in ks). 

Shawnee Mission Schools in my opinion are still very solid.  However, i would be ignorant to say that some schools in the SMSD have lower academic standards than others.( a very big problem, but SMSD is also the second largest school district in the metro after KCMO).  Some could argue that test scores etc., could be lower in let's say SM North opposed to SM East or SM Northwest. 

Truth is, there are still many upscale newer homes in the boundaries of SM South, SM East, SM Northwest, and SM West, however annexing more land in the SMSD is out of the question.  In fact, the Olathe school district annexed northwestern Olathe and built...........  Olathe Northwest.  And in Western Shawnee, all the newer upscale developing land has been gobbled up by Desoto (solid, growing academic standing). 

So, my point is, has SM schools fallen considerably behind the Park Hills, Blue Valleys, Libertys, Lee's Summit's of the world??  Or are they still a great, but slightly older school district???

Sprawl sucks.......................          just my two cents.

[KC0KEK]

There are so many variables that it's tough to say where the SMSD will be in five or 10 years. It would be ironic if the SMSD benefits from downtown KCMO's revival, with parents who work and play downtown choosing to live in NE JoCo because it's a short commute. The trick will be for the SMSD to maintain its reputation in the interim.

[MC86]

I live at K-7 and K-10 and the growth in the area is stunning.  Before long, Lawrence will be a suburb of KC. 

[Maitre D]

With all this talk about school funding in Kansas...............  What are people's perception on the Shawnee Mission School District.  Would it be fair to say that SM schools are no longer one of the "elite" districts in the metro area?? 

In the metro?  That's too funny!

Maybe not one of the elite in the country anymore.  But in the metro, there ain't a lot of competition there buddy......

[DanCa]

I could see enrollment in the SMSD rising if, as in California and many Western cities, the Mexican immigrant population really takes off in the older, inner-ring 'burgs.  They traditionally have more children so enrollment rises.  That's what happened in Orange County, which 20 years ago was the "white 'burbs" of L.A..  Some cities in norther OC regretted closing schools years ago because they're now way overcrowded. 

[KCMax]

I have a hard time believing that just because less people live in Northern JoCo, suddenly the SMSD is not as good as it used to be. What, did the teachers suddenly become retarded all of a sudden?

Money matters, but the effects of migration won't be felt for a few years.

[chrizow]

I have a hard time believing that just because less people live in Northern JoCo, suddenly the SMSD is not as good as it used to be. What, did the teachers suddenly become retarded all of a sudden?

Money matters, but the effects of migration won't be felt for a few years.

the teachers are almost certainly as good as ever.  i suspect dwindling enrollment, decreased funding, and the influx of less fortunate families is the reason why people say the SMSD is less attractive.  it's sad.

look at Raytown, Ruskin, and Hickman Mills schools to get a little taste of what the SMSD is in for.  decreased enrollment, more poor families, etc. = less quality school district.  a lot of my old teachers at Ray South were great, but it seems like each class that comes through gets "worse" than the one before.  good teachers can't make too much progress when there are classroom disturbances and parents that aren't involved in their kids' education.

[phxcat]

I teach in a district that has been in a similar situation as Shawnee Mission.  My school is title I, low enrollment, and a high minority population.  The district has done a good job of keeping pace, however, keeping good teachers and administrators.  All of the schools in the district perform well on state assessments, and discipline is not a problem.  If you didn't look at the neighborhoods surounding the school, you would think you were in the burbs.  If they do things right, Shawnee Mission can make the transition from sururban to urban without losing its quality and reputation.