KCPS “southern boundary” middle school to take over old Southwest campus

KCPS plans to transform the old Southwest High School campus at 6512 Wornall Rd. into the city’s first “southern-boundary” middle school, according to district communications director Shain Bergan. 

The new middle school would serve between 650 and 750 sixth through eighth-graders in south Kansas City, serving a longstanding need for a middle school in the southern reaches of the city. The redevelopment project is set to break ground in June 2027 with estimated completion in time for the 2029-30 school year, KCPS plans say.

The project is in the planning process. A public meeting is set for 5:30 until 7 p.m. on Monday. Oct. 12 at HJ’s Youth and Community Center at 6425 Wornall Rd, at which the public can make their opinions known. 

The district will also hold its second of three design advisory team meetings on Oct.26. The final advisory meeting is scheduled for November. The advisory team consists of “champions” of the former Southwest High School and KCPS,  including Southwest High School alumni, neighbors, and both teachers and parents from area schools.

One goal of construction is to “retrofit” the building for modern learning while preserving the historic character of the 1925 campus. The school closed in 2016 after multiple closings beginning with 1998. That includes updating the school for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, incorporating more natural light, and more communal spaces, according to Bergan.

“We have a tremendous opportunity here as we turn this into our new southern boundary middle school,” Bergan said. “We’re taking this really old historic school, and we’re repurposing it as what it was meant to be — a school.” 

Design feedback has been generally positive, and designers have had “aha moments” as a result of the first meeting, according to Francisco Litardo, the strategic communications director for KCPS.

The $80 million project to bring students back to Southwest involves renovation of the 193,000 square-foot historic structure. Plans also include a new gym, a new storm shelter, a commons area, and a restoration of the original 1925 courtyard. 

Two previous additions to the building from 1962 and 1988 will be demolished. Future add-ons to the project could include a new athletic facility as well as a renovation for the auditorium.

Bergan went on to say the new campus at Southwest will be the first middle school that south KC families can call their own.

About $45 million of the estimated costs will be covered by the KCPS bond approved by voters in 2025. The remaining money will come from ongoing fundraising efforts, KCPS reserves, earned interest, and bond premiums, plans say.

The new middle school also plans to offer a medical and health sciences pathway, which has involved conversations with experts and stakeholders in health care, according to Litardo. Those plans would offer hands-on learning, project based instruction, career exploration, and healthcare and higher-ed partnerships.