About Our District

District Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

About Burlington Area School District:

The Burlington Area School District serves approximately 3100 students in Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth counties. We develop the intellectual, physical, vocational, creative, cultural and social capabilities of students in grades 4K-12. The District’s employees prepare students for the next academic step with the long-term goal of college and career readiness. Sound academic programs and quality learning environments demonstrate excellence to the community. Starting in Fall 2021, the District consists of five elementary schools for grades 4K-5, one middle school for grades 6-8, and a Burlington High School. The District offers both a traditional program and Montessori (for grades K - 6) as well as services to support students from the most gifted and talented to the students with the greatest challenges. The District office is located at 100 N. Kane St., Burlington, WI 53105.

The Burlington Area School District has always been proud to serve the residents of the Burlington, WI area and has always been grateful for the support it receives from the community.

History:

Three years after Moses Smith and William Whitting staked their claims at the junction of the White and Fox Rivers in 1835, immigrants to the new community organized to offer education. The Whitman school opened in 1839.

Schools opened and closed over the next three decades. This coincided with a pivotal time in the State of Wisconsin for public education. In 1858, plans were made to construct a high school. Mrs. Harriet Dyer Norton received the first diploma in 1863. However, faculty turnover, Civil War, and quarrels between school boards all interrupted instructional continuity. A small class graduated in 1865, then the high school was abandoned until 1872.

In September 1872, high school classes resumed and have been offered in Burlington ever since.  The state of Wisconsin passed the State Free High School Law in 1877.

The forming of the Burlington Area School District came over time. Starting in 1951, several high school districts were annexed into a Burlington high school district. The Burlington Area School District formed as a K-12 system in 1966.

Several buildings within the District have been constructed to parallel the growth of the community and student population. The Conkey Street School, later named Cooper School, was dedicated in 1897 with a capacity of 600 pupils. The Lincoln School (now the District office) was remodeled and dedicated on February 12, 1912 – the centennial anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. Construction for a new high school on Robert Street began in July 1924. Population growth caused additions to the high school in 1948 and 1955. Growth also brought the construction of Waller School in 1955, which needed an 18-room addition in 1960 to relieve crowding. In 1967, Cooper School was built and the old Cooper School was torn down. Dyer opened in 1964 as a junior high, serving grades 6-8, then started serving grades 5-6 in 2000.

In the late 1990s, plans were drawn up for a new high school campus, adjacent to Gateway Technical College. The 266,600 square-foot high school opened in 2000, leaving the Robert Street school to become Karcher Middle School. During the same time, Lyons Center received an addition and Winkler Elementary School was built.