The Independent School

The Independent School (TIS) , also known as the Wichita Independent School, is a mid-sized private school in Wichita, Kansas. Address:The Independent School8301 East Douglas Wichita, KS 67207(316) 686-0152Fax: [phone]Infobox Private School
name = The Independent School


motto = "A community of respect" and "If not now, when?"
established = 1980
type = Private, K-12
head_name = Head of School
head = Mr. Ed Walters
city = Wichita
state = KS
country = USA
enrollment = Over 750| athletics = 18 3A KSHSAA Sports
colors = Blue/White/Black
mascot = Panther|conference = Central Plains League
homepage = [http://theindependentschool.com/RunScript.asp?p=ASP~Pg0.asp www.theindependentschool.com]

From there the school quickly grew and Mrs. Garvey decided to have a new campus built on her residence and husband's small golf course on East Douglas Street. A lower school building was built, then later a new building housing the upper and middle schools was constructed. As the student body continued to grow, separate middle school and upper school liberal arts buildings were constructed. The school now has over 750 students in Kindergarten through 12th Grade. The current graduating class has over fifty students with the high school consistently growing in numbers. The school hired a new head of school in 2006, Mr. Ed Walters, after the departure of former head of school and co-founder Mrs. Karen Norton.

The buildings are easily recognized for their unusual paint colors: salmon terracotta (known as Garvey Pink to the students), and cyan.

Accomplishments

*2008 Andy Strand, Evan Fahrbach, Individual State Champions at KSPA Journalism Contest
*2008 3A KSPA State Championsip for Journalism
*2008 National High School Mock Trial Championship - 14th place
*2008 Kansas Mock Trial Regional, State Champions
*2008 3A State Softball Runner-Up
*2008 3A State Baseball Runner-Up
*2008 3A Regional Baseball Champions
*2008 3A Regional Softball Champions
*2008 3-2-1A State 4-Speaker Debate Champions
*2008 Central Plains League Debate Champions
*2007 Central Plains League Boys Tennis Champions
*2007 Central Plains League Girls Track Champions
*2007 Central Plains League Softball Champions
*2007 3A Softball Regional Champions
*2007 3-2-1A State 4-Speaker Debate Runner-Up
*2007, 2006 Scholars' Bowl Champion; 4 consecutive Regional Championships
*2006 State Golf - Individual Champion (Callie Kemmer)
*2006 State Girls Tennis Team Championship; Singles Champion; Doubles Runners-Up
*2006 Track - State, Regional and League Champions
*2006 Boys Track - 2nd Place State
*Class of 2006 (48 graduates) - earned $3.8 million dollars in merit-based scholarships
*2005 Blue Ribbon School, Part of the No Child Left Behind Act
*2005 3-2-1A State 4-Speaker Debate Champions
*2003, 2004 State Girls Tennis
*2000 Dodge Kemmer, State Boys Golf Champion
*2005 State Boys Track runner-up, State Girls Track 3rd place
*2005 Heart of Leadership Award from Southwestern College
*2004, 2005, 2007 State Mock Trial Winners – represented Kansas in the National Mock Trial competition
*2005 State Individual Wrestling Champion
*2006 Wrestling League Runner-up
*2004 Presidential Scholar Winner (2 from each state, national honor), 2005 Presidential Scholar Semi-finalist (1 of 6 in Kansas)
*Four consecutive years of Presidential Scholar nominees
*In fall 2005, graduates enrolled in 5 of the top 6 US News and World Report top 100 colleges – Harvard, Princeton, Duke, Stanford, Yale
*Class of 2005 garnered over $3.3 million in merit-based scholarships
*Numerous National Merit
*3 Kansas Association of Independent and Religious Schools Distinguished Teachers teach at TIS
*6 Robert Byrdeeter Scholars since 2001
*3 students on the Kansas State All-Academic Team
*2005 MS Math Counts Champions, 2006 MS Math Counts Runners-up
*2005 State Track Coach of the Year 2003, 2004 State Tennis Coach of the Year
*2005 LS State Chess Champions
*Numerous League Championships in MS and in US Winner of several Music Theatre of Wichita Jester awards
*MS was invited to accompany the Prairie Rose Wranglers to Carnegie Hall (summer, 2004) and to China (spring, 2006).
*Three (3) 2006 Scholastic Art Gold Key winners, at least 1 Gold Key winner for 7 consecutive years
*Consistent high performances in the Pittsburg State Math Competition, Emporia State Mathematics Competition, Council of Teachers of English winners
*Creative writing publication, "Echoes" continues to win awards
*Numerous LS students have their works published in the Kansas Young Writers publication
*Many representatives in the State Geography Bee
*Many representatives in State and Honors Band and Choir festivals

Academics

In 2005 the school was graced with the award of a Blue Ribbon School (Part of the No Child Left Behind Act), that exemplfies excellence academically, in the community, and athletically. The school offers rigorous academics to suit the needs of the students, including the most academically advanced. Many Honors and Advanced Placement classes are offered, which include the following: English Literature, English Language and Composition, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Statistics, Calculus BC, US Government, and US History.

Athletics

Colors: Blue and White (also Black)
Mascot: The Panthers (Logo similar to a Powercat)
KSHSAA Class: AAA (3A)
League: Central Plains League
Rival Schools: Trinity Academy, Wichita Collegiate School
Boys Sports: Football, Soccer, Cross Country, Basketball, Wrestling, Track & Field, Tennis, Golf, and Baseball
Girls Sports: Soccer, Volleyball, Tennis, Cross Country, Golf, Basketball, Track & Field, Softball, Swimming
State Championships: Boys Golf (2000), Girls Tennis (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007), Girls Track (2006)

As of the end of the 2007 athletic year, the "WI" logo signifying Wichita Independent has no longer been in use. All logos used on official Independent School gear only displays the Panther logo or the TIS acronym for The Independent School.

Accreditation

The Independent School is currently (2008-09) accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). The school is undertaking to convert accreditation by 2010 to the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS). ISACS is not recognized by the Kansas State Department of Education as a National or Regional Accrediting Agency.

External links

* [http://www.theindependentschool.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.ksde.org/default.aspx?tabid=1651 Kansas State Department of Education, Recognized National or Regional Accrediting Agencies]