Olathe

The Olathe School District in Kansas serves 51 schools, including 36 elementary, 10 middle, and 5 high schools. The district is highly ranked, coming in at 55 out of 266 districts in the state and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. Several standout schools in the district include Olathe Northwest High School, ranked 22nd in Kansas with a 5-star rating, and Olathe East Senior High, ranked 87th with a 4-star rating. At the middle school level, Prairie Trail Middle School and California Trail Middle School both earn 5-star ratings and rank in the top 25 in the state.

The Olathe School District outperforms the state average in core subject areas, with 42.71% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts compared to 33.55% statewide, and 43.89% proficient in Math versus 31.6% across Kansas. Science proficiency is also higher in Olathe at 38.13% versus 32.28% statewide. However, there is significant variation in performance and resources across the district's schools, with free and reduced lunch rates ranging from 6.19% to 84.96% and per-student spending from $7,827 to $20,787.

The top-performing elementary schools, such as Regency Place Elementary and Meadow Lane Elementary, both ranked in the top 7 in Kansas, could serve as models for best practices that could be replicated across the district. Meanwhile, the lower-performing schools with higher poverty rates may require additional support and resources to improve student achievement and ensure more equitable access to quality education throughout the Olathe School District.