Burlington, Iowa - Education

Education

Burlington is served by the Burlington Community School District, which has five elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and one alternative high school. Private education is also available for kindergarten through 12th grade at Notre Dame Catholic School, and Great River Christian School.

The Burlington School District has five elementary schools: North Hill, Sunnyside, Grimes, Corse and Black Hawk. All are new buildings or have been recently completely rehabilitated, the newest, North Hill Elementary, received its first students in 2009, there are no elementary school buildings within the school district that are over 40 years old. The district has two middle schools: James Madison and Oak Street. Beginning with the 2010-11 school year, Oak Street students will begin attending Aldo Leopold Middle School (named in honor of ecologist, and environmentalist, Aldo Leopold, a former resident of Burlington, and author of "A Sand County Almanac"), the new school building, near the corner of Sunnyside Avenue, and Roosevelt Avenue, is a state-of-the-art three story building, intended to replace the aging Oak Street Building (the Oak Street building was completed around 1907), a third middle school building is currently under construction at the corner of Lawrence Street, and Mason Road. The name of the building has been set as Edward Stone Middle School (named in honor of former JPL head, and Burlington born Dr. Edward Stone), construction is complete, and new students are expected for the 2012-13 school year, this building is intended to replace the James Madison building, which has only been in the system since the mid-1960s. These two new middle schools were built to accommodate more students after a third building, Horace Mann, was gutted by fire in 2005.

Burlington Community High School was constructed in 1968, and occupied the following year, with the first graduating class in June 1970. Prior to that, the high school students were educated at a building located near the downtown business district; the building is still standing, but it remains unoccupied. Notre Dame High School and Elementary schools occupy a building near the Burlington high school. Great River Christian Schools occupies the old Prospect Hill Elementary School building (now closed),426 Harrison St. A third middle school building once existed on the edge of Perkins Park, named Horace Mann, that building was gutted by fire in 2005, and later razed. The school district offices are located near the corner of West Avenue, and White Street, in a large mansion once owned by Railroad tycoon Charles Elliott Perkins, and is nicknamed "The White House," due to the whitewashed facade. The original High School building (which now serves as the School District Maintenance shops) is noted as being the first high school built west of the Mississippi River.

Burlington is also served by Southeastern Community College.