Summit School history

The Lee’s Summit School District was reorganized in 1949 when 16 rural elementary districts combined with the Greenwood School District and the Lee’s Summit City School District.

A new wing was added in 1951.

The school opened in 1956 on what was then considered the city’s west side.

The school is located on Lee’s Summit’s east side. It was built in 1966 and is located near the district’s summit.

The Summit School of Queens, New York was founded by Hershel Stiskin in 1968 as a charter school for children and adolescents with a wide array of special needs.

The innovative and dynamic school that grew out of the 1969 merger is now recognized as one of the top independent schools in the country.

When Meadow Lane opened in 1972, it was almost completely surrounded by farms.

She establishes a team, including Doctor Michael Castleberry and the late Allen Robinson, to open a school. It was a lot more of a whole person approach to education,” Dorothy Goldie, St Paul Academy, and Summit School graduate from the class of 1973, and Director of Institutional Advancement said.

The Summit School at Nyack was created in 1974 as a residential program initially associated with Summit Queens founded by Mayer Stiskin.

In 1983, with refurbished facilities and modernized building facades, Summit School officially opened its doors as the new Proctor High School.

1988 – Doctor Jane Snider envisions opening a school for dyslexic students.

Summit was founded in 1989 by Doctor Jane R. Snider, former Executive Director, in response to a need in the greater Annapolis/Baltimore metropolitan community.

Underwood Elementary School opened in 1991.

Our second middle school, Bernard C. Campbell Middle School, opened in 1992.

Richardson Elementary School is one of two “first-phase” elementary schools opened in fall 1993.

Both Richardson and Trailridge elementary schools opened second phases in 1994.

By December 1995, Summit had outgrown the mansion and relocated to its current location, a former horse farm, situated on 15 picturesque acres in Edgewater, Maryland.

Highland Park is funded by a 1996 voter-approved Prop.

Cedar Creek Elementary School, located on the district’s far west side on Third Street, opened in Fall 1997 as a “first-phase” school.

Missouri Innovation Campus, home of Summit Technology Academy, geared toward preparing students for technology careers, initially opened in fall 1999.

A 500-student addition opened during the 2000-01 school year, bringing the school’s student capacity to approximately 2,000.

A 2002 bond issue funded an addition and renovation at the school.

According to a section of New York Magazine in late 2003, the school had the highest amount of student admission forms received—more than 1,000—in the city among the leading "special schools for special kids", with only 35 spaces available.

A major addition was funded by the 2004 bond issue.

Longview Farm Elementary School, located on Lee’s Summit’s far west side, opened in Fall 2005.

Doctor Underwood retired from the school district in 1976 and remained active in the community and the schools until his death in 1999. It is located in the southeast portion of the school district and was funded by an April 2008 no-tax-increase bond issue.

The Missouri Innovation Campus building is funded through a voter-approved 2015 no-tax-increase bond issue as well as a groundbreaking partnership with the University of Central Missouri.

2018 – Work begins on the new driveway, STEM lab / Makerspace and Athletic Field and plans are underway for a new Academic Center to house 6th, 7th and 8th grades, a state of the art Instructional Media Center and upgraded facilities for the Summit Resource Center.

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