History of the Olathe School District

  • The Olathe Unified School District 233 was formed in 1965, with the consolidation of five smaller districts: Countryside, Meadowlane, Mount Zion, Olathe, and Pleasant View. Approximately 66 percent of the district lies within the boundaries of the City of Olathe, 19 percent in Lenexa, 8 percent in Overland Park, 6 percent in the county, and less than 1 percent in Shawnee.

Washington School - 1923

photo of sixth graders at Washington School in 1923

Current Schools

  • 1950s

    • Central Elementary, 1952 (Original Central opened in 1882)
    • Meadow Lane Elementary, 1953
    • Westview Elementary, 1954
    • Ridgeview Elementary, 1956
    • Olathe North High School, 1958 (Originally named Olathe High School)

    1960s

    • Fairview Elementary, 1964
    • Northview Elementary, 1967
    • Santa Fe Trail Junior High, 1968

    1970s

    • Rolling Ridge Elementary, 1972
    • Havencroft Elementary, 1972
    • Washington Elementary, 1975 (Original Washington opened in 1889)
    • Oregon Trail Junior High, 1976
    • Heartland Developmental Learning Center, 1976
    • Scarborough Elementary, 1977
    • Black Bob Elementary, 1978

    1980s

    • Tomahawk Elementary, 1980
    • Prairie Center Elementary, 1980
    • Indian Trail Junior High, 1981
    • Olathe South High School, 1981
    • Walnut Grove Elementary, 1985
    • Indian Creek Elementary, 1985
    • Brougham Elementary, 1985
    • Pioneer Trail Junior High, 1986
    • Heritage Elementary, 1988
    • Countryside Elementary, 1988
    • Briarwood Elementary, 1988
    • Frontier Trail Junior High, 1989

    1990s

    • Pleasant Ridge Elementary, 1991
    • Mahaffie Elementary, 1991
    • Green Springs Elementary, 1991
    • Olathe East High School, 1992
    • Heatherstone Elementary, 1995
    • California Trail Junior High, 1996
    • Bentwood Elementary, 1996
    • Cedar Creek Elementary, 1997
    • Regency Place Elementary, 1999

    2000s

    • Chisholm Trail Junior High, 2000
    • Sunnyside Elementary, 2000
    • Arbor Creek Elementary, 2002
    • Olathe Northwest High School, 2003
    • Manchester Park Elementary, 2004
    • Prairie Trail Junior High, 2004
    • Clearwater Creek Elementary, 2004
    • Ravenwood Elementary, 2005
    • Madison Place Elementary, 2007
    • Woodland Elementary, 2008
    • Forest View Elementary, 2009

    2010s

    • Mission Trail Middle School, 2010
    • Millbrooke Elementary, 2014
    • Olathe West High School, 2017
    • Summit Trail Middle School, 2018
    • Canyon Creek Elementary School, 2019

    2020s

    • Santa Fe Trail Middle School, 2024 (Original Santa Fe Trail opened in 1968)

Enrollment Highlights

    • 3,687 students in 1965, the year the district was consolidated
    • 5,020 students in 1971
    • 10,593 students in 1984
    • 15,357 students in 1991
    • 20,335 students in 1999
    • 25,540 students in 2006
    • 27,999 students in 2010, the year the district became the second largest in the state
    • 29,171 students in 2013
    • 30,299 students in 2019

    See additional enrollment statistics

Former Schools

    • Stone (Rock) School, 1868-1898
    • Lincoln Elementary School, 1889-1958
    • Red Brick School, 1898-1927
    • John P. St. John Memorial High School, 1927-1958
    • Olathe Junior High School, 1927-1967
    • Olathe High School, 1958-1981 (Name changed in 1981 to Olathe North High School)
    • Stuck Elementary School, 1960-1972 (Brought into the district when the city annexed Provence Village west of Parker Street)
    • Millbrooke Junior High School, 1967-1976

Other Buildings

    • West Dennis Support Center, 1966 and 1983
    • Operations Service Center, 1985
    • Instructional Resource Center, 1989
    • Food Production Center, 1990
    • Olathe District Activity Center, 1991
    • District Education Center, 1996
    • College Boulevard Activity Center, 2003
    • Lone Elm Service Center, 2004
    • Prairie Learning Center, 2006
    • Olathe Advanced Technical Center, 2013
    • Technology Support Center, 2014
    • Mill Creek Campus, 2018

Superintendents

    • W.W. Deverell, 1865-1869
    • B.S. McFarland, 1869-1872
    • Mr. Hoffman, 1872-1873
    • A. Carroll, 1873-1880
    • H.T. Williams, 1880-1883
    • B.S. McFarland, 1883-1895
    • S.W. McGarrah, 1895-1901
    • R.L. Parker, 1901-1909
    • C.M. Ware, 1909-1912
    • S.D. Dice, 1912-1915
    • E.N. Hill, 1915-1935
    • N.I. Reist, 1935-1936
    • W.B. Kintigh, 1937-1956
    • Carl Knox, 1956-1962
    • Wayne Fick, 1962-1968
    • Dr. M.L. Winters, 1968-1991
    • Dr. Ron Wimmer, 1991-2005
    • Dr. Patricia All, 2005-2010
    • Dr. Marlin Berry, 2010-2016
    • Dr. Patricia All, 2016-2017
    • John Allison, 2017-2021
    • Dr. Brent Yeager, 2021

Notable Graduates

    • Ella M. Mahaffie, Class of 1885 — Served 52 years in public education
    • Herbert S. Hadley, 1887 — Governor of Missouri, 1908-1912
    • Jesse C. (J.C.) Nichols, 1887 — Developer of Country Club Plaza
    • James Pellett, 1889 — Mayor of Olathe, 1913-1918
    • Albert Beach, 1901 — Mayor of Kansas City, Mo., 1923-1929
    • Ernest (Ernie) Miller, 1910 — First “Mister Olathe,” 1964
    • Joyce Brown, 1914 — Principal of Olathe High School, 1936-1947
    • Earl Collier, 1915 — First Olathe casualty of WWI in France, 1918
    • Marshall Ensor, 1917 — Industrial Arts teacher, honored by CBS for contributions to radio
    • Charles “Buddy” Rogers, 1922 — Starred in Academy Award-winning movie “Wings”
    • John Anderson Jr., 1935 — Governor of Kansas, 1961-1965

History in Pictures