Mill Valley High School
Shawnee, KS 66226
Phone: (913) 422-4351
District: De Soto School District
GreatSchools Rating
public • Grades 9,10,11,12 • 1432 students
Mill Valley High School, a public school located in Shawnee, KS, serves grades 9-12 in the De Soto School District.It has received a GreatSchools Rating of 10 out of 10, based on a variety of school quality measures.
Mill Valley High School is a public school located in Shawnee, KS. 1432 students attend Mill Valley High School.
School Ratings
| Category | Rating | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Test Scores | 10/10 | The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Kansas State Assessments data from Kansas State Department of Education. |
| College Readiness | 10/10 | The College Readiness Rating uses this high school's graduation rates, college entrance exam participation and performance, or AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment participation to determine how well schools are preparing students for success in college and beyond. The College Readiness Rating was created using the following data from the 2021 Civil Rights Data Collection: percentage of students enrolled in IB, AP or Dual Enrollment classes in grades 9-12, using 2024 Average ACT score data from Kansas State Department of Education, using 2025 4-year high school graduation rate data from Kansas State Department of Education, and using 2023 demographic data from the National Center for Education Statistics. |
Posted: May 23, 2025
The head principal permits bullying, being biased towards which family she will support, and which will help for safety. Some great teachers there but overshadowed by a controlling administration. Admin concerned about image and clothes admin wears than serving families and students. Unfit to lead the building. Any challenges from families concerning your child - principal responds emotionally because her 'control' is being questioned. District officials make decisions politically concerning students.
Posted: May 23, 2025
Posted: May 23, 2025
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Posted: May 23, 2025
Posted: January 30, 2021
As an alumni just perusing on the internet to see how my high school ranks, I am relieved to see the overall consensus aligns with my own experience. I loved my time in high school and believe the education I received was strong and prepared me well for college. The community I was able to form with teachers and students alike during my four years at Mill Valley has supported me well and continues to do so. While there are some typical high school struggles, I believe Mill Valley High School is a great place for students to develop both in academics and in personal growth. Much of the staff has changed since my time at the Valley so my understanding of the current environment at the school may be out dated- I have ranked the below topics to the best of my own knowledge.
Posted: January 30, 2021
Posted: January 30, 2021
Posted: January 30, 2021
Posted: January 30, 2021
Posted: January 30, 2021
Posted: January 30, 2021
Posted: January 30, 2021
Posted: January 3, 2017
Posted: January 3, 2017
Posted: January 3, 2017
Posted: January 3, 2017
Posted: January 3, 2017
Some teachers are excellent, some average, a couple are not good. The mix is better than other schools.
Posted: January 3, 2017
Posted: January 3, 2017
We moved to be in the De Soto school district. They build on positive character traits and have a top down mentality rather than bottom up. MV is one of the best schools in the state. With current student population around 1,400 it is larger than it was a few years ago but the projections show slow decreases in the future. They have been expanding AP opportunities and are great at college prep. No school is perfect and I hate to hear that MV has a drug problem as I believe it is better than most, not perfect but good. Students do better with involved parents. MV has teachers and staff that connect with students, some excel and I am grateful that my kids have gone to school here.
Posted: October 12, 2014
The school has many excellent offerings whether it be extracurricular or academic. The parents are involved and it has a good community feel. There is a rampant drug/alcohol problem that is semingly dismissed or ignored by either parents or staff. Unfortunately to the detriment of the students and school district it is crowed and getting more and more crowded by year. The next two middle school classes coming in are large and will make things very uncomfortable (students barely have time to eat lunch now) for the students and faculty. This could have been avoided with a recent boundary change that would have benefited both high schools in the district while keeping the academic standards high at both schools. Unfortunately athletics will be affected negatively at Mill Valley with no boundary change forcing the school to compete at the 6A level in the coming years. This has already been witnessed this year in football. We have a wonderful school district with limitless opportunities for students. Next time my hope is the BOE will make a decision based on what is best for the school district and not cave in to pressure from a select group of parents.
Posted: September 2, 2014
This school is drug ridden also known as pill valley, administrations turns away from stopping the problem. This school is in need of a major over hall in how it is run.
Posted: August 15, 2012
Mill Valley has been a good school for my three children. It has significantly improved academically over the years and is becoming a GREAT school. There is a core group of "rock star" teachers your students definitely want to experience, ie., Mattingly, Habiger, Bogart, Keal, Dunback, Wieland, Strickland, Paredes, Chavez, DeWild, Swafford, Crosbie, H. Brown, just to name a few. These are teachers that traditionally teach honors or AP but well worth the effort!!!! The school has increased in size recently but it is not so big, where with reasonable effort, your child can succeed in sports, clubs, etc....However, be aware, many of the typical students are more interested in parties than the purpose of an education. Be proactive as a parent! Get to know your kids friends and parents before assuming they have the same values as you. Drinking among the student body is common and unfortunately, drugs are readily available, The "no tolerance" rule needs to be more consistently enforced among the teams and clubs. If you child says they are going to a party, there WILL be alcohol AND drugs. Going to these parties should be avoided. Parents, plan a supervised, safe alternative!
Posted: August 14, 2012
For many years I've had issues with this school and the district in general. It all started when I wished to transfer back to public high school after a year at private school. The teachers and administration would not help me get things in order nor would they get involved in any way. When I had problems they didn't help and I know I'm not the first these problems. Also they do not allow students to excel or graduate early and could care less about a student's future or ambitions. All it seems Mill Valley cares about is sports and looking good on paper. They do not actually care about students and their educations.
Reviews provided by GreatSchools™
| # | Name | Type | City | State | Overall Rating | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Leavenworth | KS | 19 mi | |
| 2 | Savannah West | Apartment Complex | Kansas City | MO | 22.5 mi |
| # | Name | City | State | Overall Rating | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lansing | Lansing | KS | 16.1 mi | |
| 2 | River Walk/ Downtown Area | Leavenworth | KS | 20.3 mi | |
| 3 | Main Street | Weston | MO | 27.1 mi |
| Base | Distance |
|---|---|
| Kansas City Military | 23.3 mi. |
| Fort Leavenworth | 23.4 mi. |
