Brookside Charter is a kindergarten through 8th grade school chartered by BSDS, INC., a Missouri not-for-profit corporation to operate within the boundaries of the KCMO School District. Brookside opened as a private school in 1956 and received its charter from its sponsor, UMKC, in 2002.
In 2008, UMKC and the State Board of Education renewed the charter for ten years. The purpose of the school is to prepare urban students to succeed in any high school in the Kansas City area.
As enrollment continued to increase, Brookside began to look for a new, permanent location and purchased a vacant office building 1815 E. 63rd St. (63rd and Woodland). Due to its financial strength, Brookside was able to self-fund (through combined equity and loans) a complete renovation of its current building at a cost of $4.1 million, without an appeal for philanthropic support.
As Brookside continued to experience significant growth and achieved remarkable success in both academic and character-building programs, the Brookside board committed to making Brookside a seamless continuum of quality education and personal skill development from preschool through 8th grade. Three years ago, Brookside added grades six and seven and just graduated its first 8th grade class in 2013. The recent expansion added a new parking lot, a new middle school wing which includes a cafeteria, new classrooms including a science lab and new library and media center for all grades. A gymnasium was also added which includes a stage for school and community use. With the expansion now completed, Brookside can accommodate 650 students. Enrollment for 2014/15 is happening now. Congratulations to Brookside Charter for the expansion and for “sparkling” in Southtown.