Kansas City Kansas Unified Schl Dist 500
A History of Segregation in Kansas Schools, Part III
1965-Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
As part of President Johnson's war on poverty, the ESEA started Head Start, gave free lunches to those in need, and gave greater attention to special education. This allowed continued opportunity for education.
1966: Child Nutrition Act
The Child Nutrition Act established the School Breakfast Program (SBP) which began as a pilot project in 1966 designed to assist schools serving breakfast to nutritionally needy children. Public schools in Kansas are required by state statute to offer the SBP in each public-school building under the jurisdiction of the school district's board of education.
Other school nutrition programs include the After Snack Program, Special Milk Program and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
1968: Bilingual Education Act
The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 provided funding for language instruction. The Act is noted as the first official federal recognition of the needs of students with limited English speaking ability (LESA). The Bilingual Education Act (BEA) was an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Since 1968, the Act has undergone four reauthorizations with amendments, reflecting the changing needs of these students and of society as a whole.
1970: Northeast Junior High Closes
Northeast Junior High closed as a result of a court order desegregating of the KCK school system in the 1970s. The school has been renovated and now is apartments.
1971: Busing
Busing became a lawful remedy for segregation.
1975: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) ensures that students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) from 1975 to 1990. In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA.[1] Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as those students who do not have a disability.
Desegregation of the Nation's Public Schools: A Status Report
The Commission of Civil Rights issued a report summarizing the results of a survey on the status of school desegregation in 47 major school districts in the United States. Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools was one of the 47 schools that was highlighted in this 102-page report.
This report summarizes the results of a survey on the status of school desegregation in 47 major school districts in the United States. A profile of each district is provided together with a report on the desegregation status of that district.
KCKPS Report Status Report
Kansas City, Kansas - O.L. Plucker, Superintendent
Profile
In 1977-78, Kansas City schools enrolled 27,762 students, of whom:
- 53.4 percent were White,
- 41.4 percent Black,
- 4.8 percent Hispanic,
- 0.3 percent American Indian, and
- 0.3 percent Asian American.
In 1972, total student enrollment was 32,947 including:
- 61.7 percent White,
- 34.3 percent Black,
- 3.7 percent Hispanic,
- 0.2 percent American Indian, and
- 0.1 percent Asian American.
Faculty date for 1977-78 were not made available by the school district, but in 1972 HEW/OCR reported that there were 1,386 teachers including
- 1,075 Whites
- 297 Blacks,
- 9 Hispanics,
- 2 American Indians and
- 2 Asian Americans.
Of seven persons currently serving on the school, one is Black, and the rest are White. Information on Federal financial assistance was not provided by the superintendent’s office.
Desegregation Status
In February 1977, the U.S. District Court ruled that five schools in the Kansas City, Kansas, school district represented vestiges of a dual school system. In compliance with the court order, the school district implemented a desegregation plan in September 1977.
The plan converted one all-Black high school (Sumner) to a magnet school academy of arts and sciences for the academically talented, closed one junior high school, and gave children attending three black elementary schools the opportunities to attend predominately white schools.
The plan called for the mandatory transfer of 675 Black junior high school students resulting in one-way busing of Black children only. Seven other schools, which had become virtually all Black since 1954, were left untouched as were four elementary schools with virtually all-White enrollments in 1976-77. In April 1978, the Department of Justice appealed a federal district court decision in which the racial imbalances in these schools were found not to be cause by any action of the district. The decision is to be reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
The plan was developed by the school administrative staff under guidelines imposed by the court. Several board members pledged that White students would not be bused involuntarily to the Black schools. There were able to make good on the pledge, as the final plan required only Black students to be bused. The past year was marked by orderly transition.
Interest in the new Sumner Academy has exceeded expectation. As of March 1978, 975 students (60 percent of them White) had applied for admission. The district will let Sumner’s enrollment go as high as 700 during the first year. The academy will stress liberal arts, math and science; discipline at this voluntary school promises to be strict, the superintendent reports. Students living 1.5 miles or more from Sumner will receive free bus transportation. Special activity buses will be available for students participating in extracurricular activities.
Student attitudes as measured by occasional media reports, have been positive. The superintendent cited an in-house review showing that attendance, tardiness, and discipline problems have lessened among former Northeast Junior High School students.
Faculty desegregation was also required by the court. The court accepted the district’s proposal to bring about faculty racial balance in each school, with a goal of only 5 percent variance.
The declining number of White students remains a problem. School district figures who w that although Black and Hispanic totals have held constant over the past 3 school years (around 11,500 and 1,300, respectively), the number of White students fell from 16,734 in 1976-77 to 14,788 in 1977-78. The loss numbered 850 White students in 1976-77and 1,096 in 1977-78, the year the plan was introduced.
Although recent suspension and expulsion data were not made available by the district, information from HEW’s 1976-77 school year survey shows that there were 4,123 suspensions and expulsions in the district during the year. Of that total, Blacks accounted for 53.1 percent Hispanics 4 percent, and American Indians 0.1 percent. No Asian Americans were suspended or expelled.
It is too soon to determine what effect “second generation problems” will have, for example, on such problems as dropout rates and racially disparate suspensions. The quality of education and teachers’ salaries are issues of continuing concern just as much as desegregation in the Kansas City, Kansas school system.
Birth of Sumner Academy of Arts and Science
Students in the Kansas City, Missouri School District experienced similar issues during the years of school desegregation. This article written by Kansas City Star reporter Mara’ Rose Williams, titled "Kansas City Schools Broke the Federal Desegregation Law for Decades. The Star Stayed Quiet," captures the sentiments of blatant racism and discrimination among district leadership on both sides of the state line.
1978
Sumner High School closed in 1978 under a federally mandated plan for racial integration of schools in Kansas City, KS.
The closing of Sumner and transformation to the name Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences, new school colors and mascot devastated the Black community. Remember, schools and churches were the anchor of the African American and Mexican American communities. The district’s decision left a long-lasting bitter taste of resentment towards district leadership that continues today among alumni and staff who were part of the school’s long respected history.
African American students who attended schools during the age of segregation share similar stories about their educational experiences under the district leadership that extended for more than 80-years under superintendents Pearson, Schlage, and Plucker. Many of the graduates who attended school from 1902-1986 have since passed or are in their senior years now. However, their stories remain with us and have been documented in various journals and studies like the dissertation written by Dr. Yolanda K. Thompson, Stability in the Storm: History of Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools 1902-1986.
While the vestiges of discrimination and racism were a part of the student’s everyday lives, they had pride in their schools and families found comfort and safety in their school community. The teachers, counselors, janitors, and cafeteria workers lived in the same community and had the best interest of the students they taught.
Today, Sumner Academy of Arts and Science continues to carry on the academic legacy of Sumner High School. The school is consistently rated one of the best high schools in the country.
Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences
Named #1 on U.S. News Best Kansas High Schools list. (2019,2020,2021, 2022)
Named #6 on U.S. News Nations Best High Schools for 2021
1997: The End of Court-Ordered Segregation
On August 19, 1997, Kansas City, KS is removed from court-ordered desegregation. Sumner remains Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, a magnet school for highly motivated and academically talented students.
1999: Afterschool Snack Program
The Afterschool Snack Program (ASP) was first implemented as a result of the 1998 re-authorization of the Child Nutrition Act. This program provides funds for the service of nutritious snacks for children enrolled in eligible after school care programs.