• About FCEDC
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  • City of Garden City
  • City of Holcomb
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• Real Estate
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  • Garden City and Holcomb, Kansas
  • Industrial Parks
  • Location One
• Quality of Life
  • Arts to Zoo
  • Community Organizations
  • Cultural Amenities
  • Education
  • Healthcare

Education—

Garden City Public Schools is a comprehensive Kinder-prep through 12th grade public school system and is the 9th largest school district in Kansas and the 2nd largest school geographically.

Garden City Public Schools has a total enrollment of 7,249 students, and considers students the primary customers of the district. The district's minority make-up is 62.8% Hispanic, 26.5% White, 2.1% Asian, 1.2% Black, 0.2% American Indian, and 7.2% Multi-ethic.

Secondary customers include the 635 certified staff members and 603 classified staff members. Parents, community members, and the business community are also consider secondary customers and actively participate in Garden City Public Schools through numerous opportunities including parent-teacher organizations, site councils, committees, and business-school partnerships.

Garden City High School boasts 18 Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs including the following: Ag Science, Automotive Technology, Business Accounting, Computer Networking, Computer Programming, Criminal Justice, Drafting, Early Childhood Education & Services, Food Service Production, Graphic Design & Commercial Art, Health-Science/Allied Health, Industrial Technology/Manufacturing, Information Processing, Interior Design, Publications (weekly newspaper and annual yearbook), Radio and TV Broadcasting, Textiles and Apparel Design, and Welding. In addition, five of these programs offer students the opportunity to certify their skills: 1) Automotive Technology—Ford Motor Maintenance and Light Repair Certification; 2) Food Service Production—Pro-Start Restaurant Management; 3) Information Processing—Microsoft Office Users Specialist (MOUS); 4) Welding—American Welding Society Certification (AWS); and 5) Computer Networking—Microsoft certified Systems Administrator (MCSA).

Garden City is fortunate to have two Catholic Elementary Schools. St. Mary Catholic School is a K-6 accredited elementary school and St. Dominic Catholic School is a Pre-school through 6th grade accredited elementary school. The two schools provide a Christian setting in which students will learn to assume responsibility & exert self-discipline.

Both Catholic schools pride themselves on providing parents with smaller class sizes, an established uniform policy and excellent teaching focusing not only on students' academic needs but spiritual needs as well. Attendance rates average nearly 99% year and consistently score above the national average on standardized tests.

Seventh Day Adventist provides education for students K-8 and is a private elementary Christian school. Their curriculum is similar to the public schools.

Holcomb Unified School District # 363 is a 3A school district located just west of Garden City and encompasses grades Pre-K through 12. It has a district population of just under 3,000 residents that support a student body of 886 which are housed in four modern buildings. The district supports technology rich classrooms with a 1:1 Laptop Initiative at the high school. The district offers a comprehensive curriculum and has consistently made AYP at all attendance centers. The district has also made Quality Performance Accreditation at each building during each accreditation cycle. All buildings have made the Standard of Excellence award for building wide in Reading, Math, and Writing for 2007.

The district belongs to Southwest Plains Regional Service Center, the High Plains Educational Cooperative, and the High Plains Athletic League. Quality programs abound within the district as both fine arts and athletic teams which are frequently League Champions and also represent themselves well at state level competitions.

The student population of 886 is composed of 24% Hispanic, 1% Multi-Ethnic and 75% White. Transfers into the district must go through an application process which occurs at the beginning of each school year. Applications are reexamined on an annual basis on the issues of attendance, discipline, and academics.

Garden City Community College provides continuing education for students of all ages. The college offers day, evening or weekend classes as well as a variety of seminars. College courses include everything from archeology to zoology. One-year certificate and two-year degree programs are offered in several areas. Four-year college and university connections are also available offering students bachelor and master degree programs.

The Community College also offers customized training for businesses & industries through the Business & Industry Institute (B&I). B&I works closely with the area businesses and industries to provide training and learning opportunities that meet the needs of today's rapidly changing workforce.

The college's Industrial Production Technology program provides training in high tech fields including welding, computer-aided drafting, and industrial ammonia refrigeration. This program gives companies a great resource for training and retraining employees and give students a chance to develop skills in the ever-increasing need for high-tech workers.