Good Community Starts Here.

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Location! Location! Location!
Good Partner: City Government
A Good Education
Home Sweet Home
Demographics
A Fascinating History
Things To Do
Area Colleges   |   More Education
High School


A Good Education

Families that live in Shawnee have smart kids. Is this a bold statement? Probably. But it’s easy to prove when you look at the statistics of the school districts that serve Johnson County. Shawnee is served by two outstanding school districts, Shawnee Mission and DeSoto, known for their quality-minded and creative approach to education. Both of these schools received the “Gold Medal” designation, the highest award in the 2008 Education Quotient ratings by Expansion Management Magazine. Some top school statistics of our area public schools are highlighted in the chart below.

  Enrollment Staff/Pupil
Ratio
Composite ACT Score National Merit Scholar Finalists % Graduates Attending College % Graduates Attending Non-College (vo-tech)
Desoto 6,880 1:22.7 23 4 94% 3.6%
Shawnee Mission 27,782 1:21.1 23.9 27 88.1% 4.3%
Blue Valley 21,462 1:12.7 24.8 41 89.5% 3.8%
Olathe 27,999 1:17.3 23.3 12 77% 7%

Source: CERI (County Economic Research Institute, Inc.) Public Education Guide 2010

 

An alternative to public schools, there are also several outstanding private and parochial schools* to choose from within Shawnee’s borders:

Good Shepherd School (K-8)
Hope Lutheran Grade School (Pre-K-8)
Maranatha Academy (K-12)
Midland Adventist Academy (1-12)
Sacred Heart School (K-8)
St. Joseph Early Education Center (Pre-K-K)
St. Joseph Elementary School (1-8)

* List compiled by the website Private Schools Report and can be found at www.privateschoolsreport.com.

For potential employers, Johnson County is great place to locate a business because the labor pool is one of the highest educated in the nation. According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau data, Johnson County ranks first among all U.S. counties with populations exceeding 500,000 in the percentage of adults with at least a high school education. In that same population number, Johnson County ranks 4th in percentage with at least a bachelor’s degree, and 14th with a graduate or professional degree. This area boasts numerous colleges and universities that support Johnson County’s economic growth and high quality of life. Check out the list of the higher learning institutes located in the metropolitan area.

Area Colleges & Universities (4-year):

  • University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS)
  • University of Missouri – (Kansas City, MO)
  • Park University (Parkville, MO)
  • Rockhurst University (Kansas City, MO)
  • Ottawa University (Ottawa, KS)
  • Baker University – Overland Park, Lee’s Summit
  • University of Kansas Medical Center (Kansas City, KS)
  • University of Kansas Edwards Campus (Overland Park, KS)
  • MidAmerica Nazarene University (Olathe, KS)
  • Avila University (Kansas City, MO)
  • Webster University (Kansas City, MO)
  • University of Central Missouri – Summit Center (Lee’s Summit, MO)
  • DeVry University – KC Campus (Kansas City, MO)
  • Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences (Kansas City, MO)
  • Kansas City Art Institute (Kansas City, MO)
  • Colorado Technical University, Kansas City (Kansas City, MO)
  • Columbia College – KC Campus (Kansas City, MO)
  • Ottawa University KC (Overland Park, KS)
  • Cleveland Chiropractic College of Kansas City (Overland Park, KS)
  • University of St. Mary – Overland Park Campus (Overland Park, KS)
  • Research College of Nursing (Kansas City, MO)
  • National American University – Zona Rosa Campus (Kansas City MO)
  • National American University – Overland Park Campus (Overland Park, KS)
  • Friends University – KC Campus (Lenexa, KS)
  • DeVry University- Kansas City Downtown Center (Kansas City, MO)
  • St. Luke’s College (Kansas City, MO)

Two-Year Institutions:

  • Johnson County Community College (Overland Park, KS)
  • Metropolitan Community College – Longview (Lee’s Summit, MO)
  • Metropolitan Community College – Penn Valley (Kansas City, MO)
  • Kansas City Kansas Community College (Kansas City, KS)
  • Metropolitan Community College – Maple Woods (Kansas City, MO)
  • Metropolitan Community College – Blue River (Independence, MO)
  • Donnelly College (Kansas City, KS)
  • Vatterott College (Kansas City, MO)
  • Concorde Career College (Kansas City, MO)
  • Brown Mackie College – Kansas City (Lenexa, KS)
  • Pinnacle Career Institute (Kansas City, MO)

 

More Education: Johnson County Research Triangle


In the November 2008 election, Johnson County voters approved a 0.125 percent sales tax to fund projects and programs for the newly created Johnson County Education Research Triangle Authority. This tax supports three new facilities for construction or acquisition in Johnson County:

  • The University of Kansas Edwards Campus Business, Engineering, Science and Technology Center in Overland Park;
  • The Kansas State University Innovation Campus National Food and Animal Health Institute in Olathe; and,
  • The University of Kansas Cancer Clinical Research Center in Fairway.

The one-eighth cent sales tax is expected to raise approximately $15 million per year. This tax went into effect in 2009. This will continue to strengthen the tremendous assets of an educated workforce available in Johnson County.


15100 W. 67th Street, Suite 202
Shawnee, KS 66217-9344