Topeka USD 501
public school district in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka USD 501, also known as Topeka Public Schools, is a public unified school district headquartered in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It is one of four school districts that serve the city of Topeka. Serving 13,430 students in the 2019-2020 school year, the district comprises 5 high schools, 6 middle schools, 15 elementary schools, and 7 other schools focused on serving other Pre-K-12 students. It has the highest enrollment of all school districts in Shawnee County. Topeka Public Schools is widely known for its role in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case.
Administration
As of June 2016, the school district is under the administration of Superintendent Tiffany Anderson.
Board of education
As of August 2026, the Board of Education is under the leadership of President Lisa Schmitt.
Current schools
The school district operates the following schools:
High Schools
Traditional high schools:
Highland Park High School
Topeka High School
Topeka West High School
Non-traditional high schools:
Capital City High School
Hope Street Academy
Middle Schools
Chase Middle School
Eisenhower Middle School
French Middle School
Jardine Middle School
Landon Middle School
Robinson Middle School
Elementary Schools
Highland Park Central Elementary School
Jardine Elementary School
Lowman Hill Elementary School
McCarter Elementary School
McClure Elementary School
McEachron Elementary School
Meadows Elementary School
Quincy Elementary School
Randolph Elementary School
Ross Elementary School
Scott Dual Language Magnet School
State Street Elementary School
Whitson Elementary School
Williams Science & Fine Arts Magnet School
Early Childhood Education Programs
Kansas Preschool Program at Quinton Heights Education Center
Parents As Teachers at Quinton Heights Education Center
Pine Ridge Prep - State Pre-K Program
Sheldon Child Development Center - Head Start
Shaner Early Learning Academy
Closed Schools
Avondale East Elementary School - closed after 2011-12 school year
Avondale West Elementary School - students moved to Jardine Elementary starting 2017-2018 school year
Bishop Elementary School - students moved to Jardine Elementary starting 2017-2018 school year
Linn Elementary School - closed due to budget cuts
Lundgren Elementary School - closed in 2011
Quinton Heights Elementary School - now Quinton Heights Preschool Program
Shaner Elementary School - students moved to Jardine Elementary starting 2017-2018 school year
Stout Elementary School - closed in 2022
Other Facilities
Adult Education Center at Washburn Tech
Capital City School
Sheldon Head Start
Topeka Center for Advanced Learning and Careers
Current facilities
Several buildings and facilities are operated by Topeka Public Schools in support of learning, including:
McKinley L. Burnett Administrative Center
Chandler Field, adjacent to the former school building, used as a practice field.
Erickson Suite, a suite of 5 buildings on the former Kansas State Hospital grounds, hosting the USD 501 Campus Police, Hummer Sports Park management, and several program offices.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Topeka USD 501” is public school district in Topeka, Kansas. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Topeka, public and school, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “public school district in Topeka, Kansas” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7824816. VIAF identifies the subject as 134870700. The Library of Congress control number is n80153969. Authority coordinates are 39.027, -95.686. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2019, 2020, 2016 and 2026.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Topeka USD 501”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Topeka USD 501 primary sources, Topeka USD 501 archive and Topeka research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Topeka USD 501” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.