Public School Districts
Enrollment
Your home address will determine which schools your children will attend. If you choose to live on base your children will attend the Derby School District. Off-base families can provide the School Liaison officer with their address to verify which schools to enroll in.
School typically begins in mid-August with official enrollment starting in late July for new students. Most districts require the following at the time of registration:
· Student's original birth certificate or certified copy
· Record of Immunizations (see below for additional information)
· Kansas Health Assessment (see below for additional information)
· Proof of residence: Letter from housing, rental contract or settlement papers, utility bill, etc.
· Address of previous school or official records
When you arrive you will need to make arrangements to enroll your child in school as soon as possible. If you are living in Temporary Lodging or if you are waiting for an on-base house to become available you can enroll your children in the Derby schools.
If you are in the process of securing a home rental or sale in another area, the districts will work with you to go ahead and get your child enrolled in the correct school and limit the amount of time they are out of the classroom. Please contact the School Liaison Officer to help facilitate that process.
Fees
Many parents enrolling their children in a Kansas school for the first time are surprised by the charging of book and activity fees. These fees are allowed by law and must be paid. They are not considered tuition. Charges include book rental, agendas, ID cards, locker rental, parking permits, and yearbooks. Amounts vary by age and by district. Fees increase with the grade of the students. Districts will waive or reduce fees for students who quality for free and reduced lunch.
Another group of fees is for participation in sports, music and other non-required school activities, referred to as "Pay to Play" or "Pay to Participate." Any student wishing to participate in an athletic team will be charged a one-time fee. In most districts this will cover them for the entire year no matter how many athletic activities they participate in. Students may also be charged fees to participate in activities (Debate, Forensics, Scholars Bowl, etc.) or in classes that require additional materials (Driver's Education, Family and Consumer Sciences, Technology, Art, etc.).
You should check each district's website prior to enrollment to determine the total cost of fees for students. Many parents experience "sticker shock" when they enroll their children and total up the fees for the first time.
DISTRICTS
To take a closer look at a district, there are two websites that provide reports on Kansas schools and districts.
Kansas State Department of Education Report Card: http://svapp15586.ksde.org/rcard/
Kansas K-12 Reports: http://svapp15586.ksde.org/k12/k12.aspx
In Kansas districts are referred to as a Unified School District or USD and each has a number attached. A brief outline of some of the USDs closest to McConnell follows.
Andover - USD 385
The Andover Public School District has an enrollment of approximately 5,180 students attending six elementary schools, two middle, two high schools and an online school. Special educations services are provided through the Butler County Special Education Cooperative. The district offers high school students Advanced Placement and Dual Credit courses through its partnership with Butler Community College.
Andover offers an all-day Kindergarten. This program is fee-supported (waived/reduced for free/reduced meal qualifiers). They also offer a fee-based Pre-Kindergarten for students who don't qualify for the At-Risk grant-funded program or the Early Childhood Special Education program.
Derby - USD 260
Derby serves more than 6,500 students, including residents of base housing, in nine elementary schools, a sixth grade center, a 7-8 middle school and a high school. Derby offers the nationally recognized Project Lead the Way curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as Advanced Placement courses.
Derby also offers open enrollment for students starting in Kindergarten on a space available basis for families who do not reside within the district boundaries. Students must submit an Out-of-District Waiver annually. There are three types of waivers depending on whether a student will attend in person, online or in a combination of the two. Waivers are available on the district website.
Goddard - USD 265
Goddard Public Schools is located directly west of Wichita. The school system is comprised of five K-4 elementary schools, two 5-6 intermediate schools, two 7-8 middle schools and three high schools serving a total of more than 4,900 students. The district expects to see continued growth and has expanded district facilities to meet that need. Special education services are provided through the Sedgwick County Special Education Cooperative.
Goddard accepts enrollment applications from out-of-district students. They started a fee-based full-day Kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year (fees are waived/reduced for free/reduced meal qualified students).
Haysville - USD 261
The Haysville school system has more than 5,000 students enrolled in six elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and two specialty facilities, Tri-City Day School and Haysville Alternative High School. Tri-City is a cooperative effort between Haysville, Derby and Mulvane to meet the diverse emotional and mental health needs of their K-12 students. Haysville Alternative High serves students who have struggled in the traditional high school setting.
Campus High School is a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Diploma program. They will accept out-of-district students to the program on a space available basis if they meet academic requirements. Haysville also offers limited open enrollment for all schools. They have a fee-based all-day Kindergarten program (fees waived/reduced for students qualifying for free/reduced meals).
Maize - USD 266
The Maize Public School District is located on the northwest side of Wichita and serves 6,600 students in eight facilities. It has one K-5 elementary, one K-1 elementary, one K-2 elementary, and two 2-5 elementary schools; two middle schools; two high schools; and one alternative high school. The district also has an Early Childhood Center for children from birth to age 5 that offers Parents as Teachers (birth to 3), Pre-K (At-Risk and ECD), and Starlets (preschool prep for 3-5 year olds).
The district is proud of the technology-rich environment it has created including interactive white boards, laptops and Interactive Distance Learning Labs. Currently, Maize allows students and parents to submit a preference for which of the two high schools they would prefer to attend. Both schools offer Advanced Placement courses and a variety of activities.
Mulvane - USD 263
Mulvane is a small district with approximately 1,900 students that lies 10 miles south of Wichita. There are five schools in the district: Munson Primary (K-2), Mulvane Grade School (3-5), Mulvane Middle School (6-8), Mulvane High School (9-12) and Mulvane Academy (a charter school for students in grades 9-12 who have struggled in a traditional school setting; enrollment is limited to 20 students).
The school district predicts strong growth with enrollment expected to increase 15% over the next 10 years. Mulvane also offers adults the opportunity to finish their high school education through the Mulvane Learning Connection (a partnership with the South Central Kansas Education Service Center). The high school currently offers six AP classes, two honors math courses and numerous dual credit college courses through a partnership with Cowley County Community College.
Rose Hill - USD 394
Rose Hill is a smaller district with one primary school (grades K-2), one intermediate school (grades 3-5), a middle school (grades 6-8) and a high school (grades 9-12). USD 394 has an enrollment of approximately 1,700 students. The school system is excited about its technology in the classroom including laptops, Smartboards and the IPod Touch.
For the 2012-2013 school year, Rose Hill High School will be offering the Early College Health Science Academy, a partnership with Butler Community College. Students interested in a health care field will split their time and earn their high school diploma and up to 54 hours of college credit.
Wichita - USD 259
The Wichita Public School District is the largest school district in Kansas with an enrollment of more than 50,000 students. There are 54 elementary schools, 17 middle schools, three K-8 schools, 11 high schools and 16 other special program locations. Wichita offers magnet schools and other special programs including the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. There is Pre-IB for grades 6-8 at Robinson Middle School and IB at East High for grades 9-12.
Magnet applications are accepted every spring for students who wish to attend a magnet school that they are not already zoned for in their neighborhood. Currently Wichita does not accept out of district application. |
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