Wichita Collegiate School

Wichita Collegiate School is a private, co-educational non-denominational non-profit college preparatory day school founded in 1963 currently enrolling 966 children from preschool through 12th grade located at 9115 E. 13th Street, Wichita KS, 67206. The headmaster is Tom Davis. The Wichita Collegiate School average class size is 10 students; 100% of its 72 high school graduates in 2006 went on to college. Mean SAT test scores were critical reading: 570; math: 590; and writing: 570 [Peterson's Private Schools http://www.petersons.com/pschools/code/instvcprint.asp?inunid=2553&sponsor=1] Wichita Collegiate School has built a statewide reputation for academic excellence. [ Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition http://www.gwedc.org/stats-education.php] The school motto is: "Probe te Dignum" (Latin for "Prove Yourself Worthy") [Memories of Wichita Collegiate School http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?S=R&bid=9248539050&cm_mmc=shopcompare-_-base-_-nonisbn-_-na]

Wichita Collegiate School is notable for its high academic and faculty standards concurrent with a foundational libertarian educational philosophy that firmly opposes government-sponsored accreditation, government teacher certification and governmental aid.

Academics

Wichita Collegiate School is an independent, private school. Because it has not sought state accreditation, Wichita Collegiate School is listed as a "nonaccredited nonpublic" school by the Kansas Department of Education. [ Kansas Department of Education [http://www.ksde.org/LinkClick.aspx?link=Directory/2006/kedrpt10%20pg%20247-249.pdf&tabid=426 NONACCREDITED NONPUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS] Kansas Educational directory 2006-2007, pgs. 247-249.] Instead, Wichita Collegiate School is one of 82 schools that are members of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) and the only ISAS member in Kansas. [ISAS School Directory Kansas search http://www.isasw.org/member_school_directory/index.aspx?LinkID=85] Wichita Collegiate School was accredited by ISAS in 1963.Fact|date=August 2008

Duke University's Talent Identification Program has designated Wichita Collegiate School as a local partner for its gifted program. [Duke University News "New Enrichment Programs Coming to Local Gifted Youth through Duke TIP, Wichita Collegiate Partnership" http://www.tip.duke.edu/about/news/2007/wichita_collegiate_partnership.html] The Kansas Board of Regents recognizes Wichita Collegiate School courses as meeting its Qualified Admissions requirements. [Kansas Board of Regents Approved Curriculum Directory http://registration.kan-ed.org/regents/index.asp] [ QUALIFIED ADMISSIONS APPROVED CURRICULUM REVIEW FORM http://registration.kan-ed.org/regents/profile.asp?userid=14707] [Profile http://registration.kan-ed.org/regents/profile.asp?userid=14707&year=2005] Wichita Collegiate School has regularly taken 1st, 2nd or 3rd place statewide in the Science Olympiad for Kansas Division C small schools over a period of many years. [1996-2007 Kansas Science Olympiad results http://webs.wichita.edu/scienceolympiad/]

The faculty at Wichita Collegiate School have received many honors. Some recent examples include the Kansas State Board of Education officially recognizing Wichita Collegiate teacher Jenifer Sinsel, the 2006 National Finalist in science at its July 2007 meeting. [Kansas State Board of Education, "Highlights of the July State Board of Education Meeting" http://www.ksbe.state.ks.us/Default.aspx?tabid=36&ctl=Details&mid=1030&ItemID=250] Sinsel is also the 2007 recipient of the National Science Teachers Association Sylvia Shugrue Award. [NSTA News Digest "NSTA Honors Educators With Its 2007 Awards" http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=53627] Sinsel was one of only 20 teachers from throughout the United States to be selected by NASA to be in the first class in the Airspace Systems Education Cohort. [NASA News http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/asec/docs/TOP_TEACHERS_FINAL_.pdf]

Wichita Collegiate School chemistry teacher Janice Crowley received the Milken Family Foundation Educator Pathfinder Award for leading her students in investigating a carcinogenic source of breast cancer in area fast food restaurants. [Milken Educator Awards http://www.mff.org/mea/mea.taf?page=netnews&_function=detail&MEAWebsite_uid1=1079&part=none] Crowley also was named in Reader's Digest's "America's 100 Best" [Reader's Digest "America's 100 Best" 2005 "Best Chemistry Inspiration" http://www.rd.com/content/best-connections-in-best-of-america/1/] and has also received Kansas State University's Phyllis Patrick Distinguished Chemistry Teacher Award [Milken Educator Awards "Janice Cowley" http://www.mff.org/mea/mea.taf?style=printer&meaID=502&page=recipient] and has been designated Regional Outstanding Chemistry Teacher by the American Chemical Society. [Science Blog "Wichita high school chemistry teacher wins regional award" http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2002/D/2002408.html]

Athletics

Wichita Collegiate School's teams, the Spartans, have captured numerous state titles. These include four boys' state baseball championships, four boys' state basketball championships, two boys' state football championships, twelve boys' state golf championships and seventeen boys' state tennis championships; as well as one girls' state basketball championship. The girls' tennis team has won seventeen of the state championships in the past eighteen years, missing only the year '99-'00. Notable WCS athletics alumni include Chris Clevenger, D'Angelo Evans, Banks Floodman, Harrison Hill, Jamie Rheem and Joe Rheem. [KWCH 12, Catch It Kansas, "Wichita Collegiate History" http://www.catchitkansas.com/global/Story.asp?s=6963040] They also include Orlando Magic player Maurice Evans [NBA Playerfile http://www.nba.com/playerfile/maurice_evans/bio.html] and San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford [Spurs Report "No place like home" http://www.spursreport.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-26199.html]

History

Wichita Collegiate School was originally conceived in the 1950s as an alternative to Wichita public education by parents who were dissatisfied with the education their children were receiving. Its name was originally Wichita Independent Day School. [Robert Love, ch. 3, "How to Start Your Own school" http://downloads.heartland.org/16690.pdf] Philosophical differences with public education led Wichita Collegiate School to reject any public accreditation on the ground that such accreditation is supportive of only minimum standards, rather than excellence. "Traditional private and parochial schools either eagerly emulate public institutions or are coerced by the state into doing so through acceptance of government accreditation and certification regulations ... Collegiate was independent of both church and state from the beginning for very practical reasons. All of us had already rejected state-run schools as being a restrictive, inefficient way to educate children. To be consistent, we decided against any association with the state in our new education venture. This meant no special legislative favors, no participation in government loan or grant programs, no state accreditation, and no requirement that we hire only certified teachers." [excerpted from Robert Love, pp. 7, 19, "How to Start Your Own school" http://downloads.heartland.org/16690.pdf]

Instead WCS joined a private accreditation arrangement with the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS). [Robert Love, ch. 5, "How to Start Your Own school" http://downloads.heartland.org/16690.pdf]

The first chairman of the board of Wichita Collegiate School was Robert Love, then a member of the National Council of the libertarian John Birch Society who subsequently parted ways with that organization over its support for the Vietnam War. [Robert Love, p. 29, "How to Start Your Own school" http://downloads.heartland.org/16690.pdf]

WCS has subsequently received large contributions from John Birch Society philanthropists, including 17 charitable donations totalling $3,343,347 from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation between 1986 and 1997. [Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation http://www.mediatransparency.org/funderprofile.php?funderID=9] [RECIPIENT GRANTS Wichita Collegiate School http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=1659]

References

External links

Wichita Collegiate School website http://www.wcsks.com

Annual Awards Presentation by Governor Kathleen Sebelius 2004
* http://www.math.ksu.edu/main/events/hscomp/report/amc12/04/photo-op.htm

Crowley, Janice P.; DeBoise, Kristen, L.; Marshall, Megan R.; Shaffer, Hannah M.; Zafar, Sara; Jones, Kevin A.; Palko, Nick R.; Mitsch, Stephen M.; Sutton, Lindsay A.; Chang, Margaret; Fromer, Ilana; Kraft, Jake; Meister, Jessica; Shah, Amar; Tan, Priscilla; Whitchurch, James. Journal of Chemical Education "Classroom Research: GC Studies of Linoleic and Linolenic Fatty Acids Found in French Fries" J. Chem. Educ. 2002 79 824 http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/hs/journal/issues/2002/Jul/abs824.html

Gautum Agarwal, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, "Lithium peroxide based electric propulsion system for an airplane for Mars exploration"
* http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/1999/PV1999_2356.pdf

Edwin G. West, "The Uneasy Case for State Education," Center for Independent Education of Wichita Collegiate School http://www.ncl.ac.uk/egwest/pdfs/The%20Uneasy%20Case.pdf

University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, "Inventory of the Robert Love Center for Independent Education Collection, 1968-1971" http://ahc.uwyo.edu/usearchives/inventories/html/wyu-ah03412.html

Kansas Association of Chemistry Teachers "2007 Winning HS Scholarship Essay" http://kschemteach.org/Scholarship/2007_winning_hs_scholarship_essa.htm