On Aug. 7, 2025, the Olathe School Board unanimously voted to repurpose Westview Elementary into an alternative learning center for Olathe students in grades K-8. The school is still functioning as an elementary school this 2025-2026 school year, but next year will be transformed into a whole new environment. Students with learning difficulties or restrictions can go to Westview as a safe space to learn and prepare for their future. 

Westview’s enrollment has steadily decreased within the last 10 years; around a 40% drop since 2015. In 2024, there were only 158 students enrolled, compared to the largest elementary school, Manchester Park, with 616 students. The enrollment decline can be traced to decreasing birth rates and housing issues like price and availability in the Westview neighborhood. 

Currently, there are three other alternative schools in Olathe: Claire Learning Center, Prairie Learning Center and Mill Creek Campus. Now, there are 36 elementary schools scattered across the city. Removing one might not seem like a big deal to many, but for the people who attend Westview, it is a heartbreaking change. 

“I love how homey it is and how inviting it is. Like, the time that you go in [arrival], there are about three to four teachers welcoming you into the doors,” current 5th grader at Westview, Violet Istas said.

Although she will finish her full elementary school career at Westview, her younger friends won’t get to complete all six years at the same school.

“They are scared to go to different schools. Like, it’s an entire restart on their elementary life,” Istas said.

This transition will displace the students currently enrolled and call for a redrawing of school boundary lines. The nearest elementary schools are Central Elementary, Rolling Ridge Elementary, and Ridgeview Elementary. The Westview students will likely be split between these schools, but will still be able to attend their originally intended middle school and high schools. 

The staff was informed about the proposal at the end of the 2024-2025 school year to give them time to prepare. Tanya Mathieu, first-grade teacher at Westview, who has taught there for 13 years, explained how upsetting the change is for the school. 

“It was a very quiet, solemn meeting where we were all just taking it in,” Mathieu said.“There were a lot of tears.  And we heard all together at the same time, just the facts that we knew were true, that our numbers are declining all across the district and really all across the nation as a whole, birth rates are dwindling.” 

However, the Olathe School District is working to make the transition stress-free and ensure that all Westview teachers will have a position available to them somewhere else in the district. 

“We’re brokenhearted about it around here, but I’m trying to personally think about it as a new adventure for me because if they didn’t close Westview, I’d be perfectly happy to stay here the rest of my years,” Matheiu said. “I just love this place that much. But since I can’t, I’m trying to think big and think of the possibilities.” 

Being the smallest elementary school, Westview has often been overlooked in many aspects of its education and history. Westview has won the Kansas State Department of Education’s Challenge Award four years in a row. The award celebrates the achievements and uncommon accomplishments of students, especially those in ethnic minority groups.

Westview was built in 1954 and is one of the oldest Olathe elementary schools. Westview has a deep history that has helped to develop today’s Olathe. Rights activist and educator, Corinthian Nutter, helped pave Westview’s legacy as the first Black principal at the school. She made a great impact by teaching students during the Webb v. School District No. 90, which paved the path for Brown vs Board. Her legacy lives on in the diversity and inclusivity that Westview has shown for the last 53 years since she retired.

“Bringing equal opportunities to all learners, that is our legacy,” Mathieu said. “Making sure that all students have a safe, kind, and loving place to learn, that is our legacy. We welcome all students from all backgrounds, and we love all of them.”