Sumner Academy of Arts & Science, Kansas City | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

A good school with tons of potential. However, Sumner has a ways to go. I am a senior this year, and my experience with Sumner has been that it focuses more on grades than the quality education of its students. Of course, just like any school, there are good and bad teachers, and good and bad classes. Yet the problems at Sumner extend far past the classroom.

The traditional way of teaching, of taking a class of 30 individuals and teaching to the average student, leaving a third of the class behind and another third bored out of their minds, is not an efficient way of teaching. It is NOT a good school for all learning styles. It only suits the organized, traditional learner.

Yes, Sumner is a vigorous school with strong curriculum. However, according to the Kansas Dept. of Education, Sumner has maintained an average ACT score of 21 or 22 for the past 6 years (which is about the National average), some years falling below the State Average. This is because Sumner has virtually no ACT preparation classes, workshops, tutoring, etc.

There is a no late work policy as well that states any late work will be a “zero” (will receive zero credit). In the world of progressive academics, this is considered ludicrous because a failing grade is being assigned to a paper that the teacher never saw. It could be the most well written, powerful, organized paper in the school, but if it’s turned in 5 minutes late, it doesn’t matter. The student receives zero credit. This policy does not encourage excellence in the classroom, it encourages obedience and compliance. It is more important to turn in completed work than to turn in quality work.

Furthermore, the school was recently rated in the top 100 high schools in America in terms of College Preparedness. This ranking is assigned by the ratio of students who take higher level classes (IB or AP) to the percentage who graduate.

For Sumner, the ratio is 1:1. Every student is required to take 2 IB classes: IBH English and one other. This forces students to take the IB exams at the end of the year. Exams that are scored across the world. Your score on them determines whether or not you…

Well, nothing really. You receive the scores the summer AFTER you graduate, AFTER you have already been accepted to College. AFTER you receive the last of your scholarship information. The IB scores are only valuable IF you take all IB classes (At least: 3 higher level IB courses, 3 standard level IB courses, and Theory of Knowledge). This is called “Full IB” and will earn you an “IB Diploma” if a student passes all classes AND receives a sum of 24 or greater on their 7 IB tests.

(Tests are scored on a scale of 0-7, 0 being worst and 7 being best. The average score varies from class to class, but a good estimate for Sumner is a 3 or 4 average. This, compared to other IB schools in the area, is somewhat lackluster to their 5 average).

This diploma makes for a nice centerpiece on your office wall, considering it doesn’t help with your degree.

Now, don’t take this all the wrong way. Sumner is a good school. The students are encouraging towards one another and there’s a home for every student, whether it be in theatre or choir, sports or cheer, magic the gathering clubs or art, there’s a place for everyone.

There are some simply outstanding teachers who relate well with the students. Everyone 9th-12th grade receives a MacBook Air laptop to use throughout the school year (as does the rest of USD 500). There’s tutoring available most days and it’s not hard to make good friends.

However, at the same time, Sumner has a ways to go. There is so much potential bottled up in this school. It’s just been hard unleashing it. I would encourage everyone to come to Sumner if given the opportunity.

Unless, that is, you have a learning style that is very different from most students. In that case, be prepared, because without an IEP (for “Gifted Students” only) or a 504 Plan (A government disability form), very few teachers will work with you to try and accommodate for your learning style.

The best of luck,

Daniel

While I do go to this school, and have made some friends, it overall has destroyed my mental health. I have had mental breakdowns, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, etc. My family, and other people who don’t go to Sumner are always confused as to why Sumner has so many days off, or days we don’t go to school. Here’s your reason, it’s to basically give their students a break from work; which I personally am grateful for. The friends and (most, not all) teachers are nice. In this school I have made more friends here than I have in my entire life. There are other people who are like me here! I was used to being alone, an “outcast” if you will, so to find other people who are like me make me happy; which is why this isn’t getting a one star, but a two.