Students may apply to one or two academies, but may only accept an invitation to one academy.

Once you start school in the fall and have entered the academy we ask that students commit to one school year. If at the end of the school year the student does not feel the academy they are in is a good match, they may fill out a withdraw form. If the student is not at their home school, they will fill out a transfer form and be required to return to their home high school.

Please view the sample contract and withdraw process at the bottom of this page.

Please read the Transfer Student Athletic Eligibility policy

Please read the Transfer Student Athletic Eligibility policy

The number of eighth grade students accepted into an academy for their ninth grade year depends on the facility size. The size of the facility or classrooms determines how many seats are available. Visit our academy data webpage and scroll down to view the data from the previous year.

Please visit the bus transportation webpage on the district website.

Absolutely! And actually, the Academies are one of your electives. Electives are classes students choose that they are interested in. That is what happens when a student chooses to apply to an academy. All students in our academies participate in many other types of electives as well as extra-curricular sports and activities. Each student's plan of study is individualized. Students typically have two to three electives each year. Please visit the individual academies to review their IPS sample plans.

We have many academy students that choose to take drama, music (band, choir, orchestra) or a world language (Spanish, French, German) all four years in addition to their academy courses. It can be difficult if a student wants to do both music and a world language. But Olathe Public Schools offers some online courses though the eAcademy that can help free up some hours during the school day. Please visit the eAcademy page for more information.

The 21st Century Academies are a four-year program and each year builds upon the next. While we highly encourage students to apply during their eighth grade year, students may apply late to an Academy if:

• There is room in the Academy
• The Facilitator approves
• The parent is supportive, as confirmed by the 21C Academies Coordinator, school counselor and/or the parent via email or phone call

This is typically reserved for students who have:

• Recently moved within the Olathe Public School boundaries
• Home-school/ private school entering public schools
• Extenuating circumstances for missing the application season as determined by 21C Academies coordinator and facilitator
• Only applied to one Academy and were not-invited

It is recommended that the student have a GPA of 2.5 or higher for their most recent three semesters.

Ten of our 15 Academies have a Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway embedded in them. This means the courses they already take in the Academy also follow a CTE pathway. When a student earns an Academy Endorsement by completing all the requirements they will also earn a "CTE Completer" status. Both the Academy Endorsement and the CTE Completer status will be printed on the student's transcript. These are great tools on the resume to show a student's accomplishments. Additionally, CTE Completers are eligible for CTE Scholars recognition and scholarships.

Read more about Career and Technical Education

The online application will open before Thanksgiving Break and close a week after. Please see the Timeline in Application Information