A Brief History of Gordon Parks Elementary School

In 1997, Sue Jarvis, a retired KCMO teacher, and Dorothy Curry, experienced in non-profit management and an artist, were volunteering at Operation Breakthrough with after-school children. They were alarmed that, though the children were capable of learning, there were too many things they didn't know and couldn't do! Many had simply not been introduced to basic concepts.

A year later, in the summer of 1998 when the Missouri Charter School law was adopted, the two volunteers began work on designing a school to meet the needs of children who might be left behind in a traditional school setting. By law, a charter school must have non-profit status, maintain financial viability and demonstrate academic improvement in its students. There are two principal benefits of being a charter school; it may hire and fire its own staff and it is able to design its own path to curricular goals. The curricular goals, themselves, comply with state and federal standards.

Jarvis and Curry consulted with legal, financial, educational and administrative professionals before writing a charter for an elementary school tailored to meet the needs of at-risk urban-core children. The school would provide hands-on experience in the areas of art, music, dance, physical education and library science. They wanted a small family-like school with small classes, where every child was called by name and where the staff worked collaboratively—including hiring additional staff. The school would honor a child's individual learning pace, and, when the child's future would best be served, he/she would be welcomed to remain seven years, an extra year, to be ready for middle school.

Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg (CMSU) signed on as sponsor in the spring/summer of 1999. Gordon Parks, the famed African-American writer, photographer, composer, poet, painter, and filmmaker enthusiastically gave his name to the school. Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) granted permission for the charter school to operate.

GORDON PARKS ELEMENTARY opened in fall 1999 in the education wing of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church with 53 kindergarten and first grade students, four classrooms, a $631,450 annual budget and a $273,000 fundraising goal. Soon after school opened, it became evident that a counselor/therapist was needed to augment the faculty. Children suffering from the burdens of poverty needed professional help to overcome emotional and social issues before they could profitably participate in academic catch-up.

With two additional grades to be added each year through fall 2003, when Gordon Parks would serve students in kindergarten through 5th grade, it became imperative to locate a larger school facility. After an intensive year of "house hunting", the Kansas City, Missouri School District sold GORDON PARKS the recently vacated Volker School building, erected in 1914.

Principal Dr. Diana Swezy joined the faculty in fall 2000 when the school moved to its present location above Roanoke Park. She introduced Balanced Literary instructional program, which had proven effective for urban-core students. This philosophy uses children's literature as its teaching tool, instead of text books.

During Swezy's tenure, special education teachers, a speech/language pathologist, a behavior intervention specialist, an additional special education teacher, and volunteer coordinator/ community liaison were added to the staff. Teachers in first through fourth grades looped, remaining with a class for two consecutive years. The spacious building, filled with enthusiastic learners and guided by hope-inspired teachers, had walls lined and lively with student work.

Fundraising efforts met projected goals. In 2002-03, Gordon Parks received $401,000 in charitable giving. Annual audits have been approved. The school was earning a reputation for developing eager learners who overcome barriers and assume responsibility for academic improvement. Results from the first standardized state test (MAP) scores, established a commendable base line.

As the 2003-2004 school year began, GORDON PARKS served kindergarten through fifth grade (two 16-student classrooms per grade), a budget of $1,863,000, and almost 200 students. One new addition to the staff of twenty-eight was a Volunteer Coordinator/Community Liaison.

Background on the School Building

On a hill at 37th and Wyoming stands a stately building - the new home of Gordon Parks Elementary School - for 88 years an anchor to the Volker/Roanoke neighborhood. Its predecessor, the William Volker School, was closed in June 2000 by the Kansas City School District, citing declining enrollment.

Thanks to a gift from Dorothy and Bill Curry paired with a $475,000 mortgage, the facility was purchased and given a second chance to serve the children of the city. Keeping the school open quelled the fears of the Volker community who worried that a derelict structure would blight the neighborhood.

After operating for a year in tight quarters at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 85 students (kindergarten through second grade) began the 2000-01 school year in the spacious retired Volker Elementary School. The public charter school was renamed Gordon Parks at Volker.

Originally called Van Horn, the building was dedicated September 1, 1913. Col. Robert T. Van Horn, a prominent Kansas Citian who served as mayor, state senator, U.S. congressman and publisher of the Kansas City Journal, was 89 years old when he gave an emotional dedicatory speech, declaring that the building would remain standing for at least another 200 years.

Charles A. Smith was the architect for the Van Horn School. From 1906 when he designed Norman School (the building still stands on Southwest Trafficway), until 1937 when he assisted with the Van Horn gymnasium addition, Smith was the school district's chief architect.

After World War II, Van Horn School was built at Winner and Van Horn Roads. Since the city didn't need two Van Horn schools, the elementary school was renamed William Volker School in 1948 to honor a modest philanthropist who refused to accept any honors during his lifetime. The name was appropriate because Volker had been a member of the Kansas City School Board at the time the Whitehead estate donated four acres to the school district for the building of the school. Volker and the Whitehead family were neighbors in the Roanoke neighborhood. Volker's legacy lives on in education.