Topeka Public Schools (USD 501)

Six districts, one mailing address

This is not a technicality. It changes which schools a child attends, which bond debt sits on the property, and in one case whether the International Baccalaureate program is even on the table. Here is who serves what.

The districts publish maps rather than street lists, so there is no shortcut. Verify by parcel, not by ZIP code. USD 501 keeps its attendance boundaries under Assessment & Demographics; Auburn-Washburn publishes attendance areas at usd437.net/boundaries. Kansas open enrollment exists and USD 501 accepts transfer applications, but capacity is set by the district and never guaranteed — do not buy a house on the assumption that a transfer will come through.

USD 501 itself

Topeka Public Schools has been led by Dr. Tiffany Anderson since June 2016, one of the longest-tenured superintendencies in the metro. The district office is at 624 SW 24th Street. Federal figures put enrollment at 12,623 in 2024–25, down from 13,430 in 2019–20 — a decline of roughly 800 students, about 6%, over five years, across 27 schools.

The consolidation happened earlier than in the Johnson County districts. Avondale East closed after 2011–12 and Lundgren in 2011; Avondale West, Bishop and Shaner were folded into the new Jardine campus in 2017–18; Quinton Heights became a preschool program; Stout Elementary closed in 2022. We found no closure or consolidation study underway for 2024–26 — the widely covered 2026 Kansas closure news is Olathe’s, not Topeka’s.

The 2014 bond, and what it built

Voters approved a $143 million bond in April 2014. It paid for secure entrances, perimeter fencing, panic buttons, security film, exterior lighting, storm shelters and gyms, science-room renovations and student Chromebooks across the district. Three structural changes came out of it: a new Jardine Elementary, the conversion of the Boisen Building into Capital City High School, and the conversion of the old Capital City building into the Topeka Center for Advanced Learning and Careers — TCALC, which turned out to be the most consequential piece. Work also went to Highland Park Central Elementary, French and Robinson middle schools, Topeka West High, and McCarter, Quincy and Whitson elementaries.

No other USD 501 bond election appears between 2010 and 2026, and none was on the November 2025, March 2026 or August 2026 ballots.

The high schools

Topeka High School, 800 SW 10th Avenue, is the landmark. Founded in 1871, the current building opened in 1931 and is frequently described as one of the first million-dollar high schools west of the Mississippi. It is Gothic, about 278,000 square feet, with a 165-foot bell tower carrying an 18-note chime and a library modeled on the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace, hand-carved shelving and hand-painted ceilings included. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and was a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School for 1988–89. Enrollment was about 1,508 in 2023–24. Its debate and forensics programs have produced close to 180 national-tournament qualifiers.

Topeka West High School, 2001 SW Fairlawn Road, offers AP courses and exams, concurrent credit, TCALC pathways, Washburn Institute of Technology programs and Washburn University Concurrent Enrollment Partnership classes. Highland Park High School, 2424 SE California Avenue, lists JROTC, AVID, AP and dual credit through partnerships, theater, debate and forensics, National Honor Society and Link Crew. Capital City School is the district’s alternative high school in the renovated Boisen Building, and Hope Street Academy at 1900 SW Hope Street describes itself in its own handbook as a Kansas charter high school within USD 501.

TCALC is the district’s career hub and serves students from every high school. Enrollment roughly tripled in four years to about 400, across nine career pathways with industry-recognized certifications and named partners: the Topeka Police Department for law enforcement, Stormont Vail for medical professions, Hill’s Pet Nutrition for animal science, and Evergy at the Kanza Energy and Science Park. Pathways include animal science, business, biomedical, engineering and robotics, health sciences and IT. The College Prep Academy at TCALC runs an accelerated track in partnership with Washburn University through which students can earn an associate degree before they graduate.

One thing to be clear about: USD 501 does not offer the IB Diploma Programme. In Topeka, IB means Washburn Rural — which is Auburn-Washburn USD 437, southwest of the city. If IB is what you are moving for, that decides your search area before anything else does.

Special services and early childhood

The district runs a Special Education department that includes a Preschool Intervention Program and gifted services, with Extended School Year listed under summer programs. Early childhood runs through three named programs — Pine Ridge Prep, Shaner Early Learning Academy and Sheldon Head Start — with a separate 2026–27 early childhood application process, plus Parents as Teachers.

We are not going to summarize service models the district has not published. USD 501’s public pages do not spell out its special education delivery models, gifted identification criteria, or an 18-to-21 transition program, and we would rather say that than invent it. Those are questions for the district’s special education office.

Moving here for 2026–27

• Confirm the district by address before you write an offer. It is the first call, not the last.
• Calendar — USD 501 students returned August 11–12, 2026 (kindergarten, 6th and 9th on the 11th, most others the 12th), preschool August 19. The other Topeka-area districts started August 11–13.
• Phones — USD 501 expanded to a bell-to-bell cell phone ban and is implementing the new state law on school-to-family social media communication.
• Watch October 2026 — the Topeka City Council decides school resource officer funding. The city currently covers roughly 70–76% of the cost and USD 501 about 24%, which the city has called unsustainable; the district has sent a new contract and offered to help fund positions.
• Tax note — bond-and-interest levies differ by district. Auburn-Washburn is repaying a $145M bond from 2022 and Shawnee Heights a $65M bond running to roughly 2050. Those obligations ride on homes inside those boundaries, not on USD 501 homes.

School boundary disclaimer. School attendance boundaries and district assignments change, and in Shawnee County a mailing address is not a district. Nothing here should be relied on for a specific property — confirm the district and assigned schools by parcel before making any decision. Programs, facilities and awards listed are factual and are not offered as ratings or as a measure of school quality. Bond, enrollment and budget figures are as reported by the districts and local news; verify current figures with the district. We have not been able to verify USD 501’s current total mill levy, the 2014 bond’s percentage of yes votes, or a year-by-year enrollment series, and we have left all three off this page rather than estimate. Last verified September 9, 2026. Sources: Topeka Public Schools USD 501; Greater Topeka Partnership; Topeka Capital-Journal; WIBW; KSNT; National Center for Education Statistics. Wingman Real Estate — The Shopper Team is not affiliated with any school district named here.