Southeast Saline Elem, Gypsum KS

Original Research by School Decision on Southeast Saline Elem

Southeast Saline Elem is a small public elementary school serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in rural Saline County, Kansas. It is part of the Southeast Of Saline district. The school sits on a highway just outside the village of Gypsum, a family-oriented farm community that has seen a slight population decline in recent years. Because Gypsum’s earlier school buildings were consolidated, students now travel to this campus, which is the district’s elementary building.

The school enrolls a modest number of students, and the student body is predominantly white, with a small share of children who are Hispanic, Black, multiracial, or Native American. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a moderate-income range for a rural setting. The school serves no grades beyond sixth, so there is no graduation rate or high school course offerings to report.

State testing results from the Kansas Assessment Program for grades three through six show an overall proficiency pattern that is above the midpoint when measured against other districts in Saline County. In math, proficiency rates vary by grade, with some grades performing near the middle and others somewhat higher. English language arts results are generally stronger, though a noticeable dip appears at the sixth-grade level, where the proficiency rate drops off markedly. In the one grade tested for science, the school posts a solid proficiency rate. That said, the state recently adjusted its cut scores for both math and ELA, which means these results may not line up with prior years; the school’s own trend data is not yet comparable. A parent curious about how the school addresses the sixth-grade ELA drop or how it supports students across grade transitions would do well to ask the principal directly.

No information was available on special education identification rates or English learner populations, and civil rights discipline data was not provided. Families with specific support needs should follow up with the school.

The community of Gypsum is tiny and rural, with limited walkability and few commercial anchors. Civic life revolves around the city office and a volunteer fire department. Housing in the area is priced below both the Kansas median and the national typical level; for a family buying a home, mortgage costs are manageable relative to local incomes. The district itself has not undertaken any major recent changes that were publicly reported, so the educational setup appears stable.

For a family that values a small rural elementary with a close-knit feel and academic performance that holds its own in the county, Southeast Saline Elem is a reasonable fit. The school’s size means children are known individually, and the growing season of early grades offers a foundation before students move to the district’s middle and high schools. Before enrolling, a parent may want to ask about the variation in sixth-grade reading results and confirm that the school’s special education and English learner supports match their child’s needs.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 7 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 462%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 16 pts below state median

Science

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

This schoolSoutheast Of Saline, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income42%Higher-income67%26 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income58%Higher-income63%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income65%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income32%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income25%Higher-income51%26 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income46%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income70%44 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income58%27 pp gap