The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Belle Plaine Elem
Belle Plaine Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fourth grade in the small agricultural town of Belle Plaine, Kansas. The school is part of the Belle Plaine public school district and sits within a community whose economic base has long been tied to wheat, sorghum, soybeans, pecan orchards, and cattle, with a growing presence of aviation-related manufacturers in the town's industrial park. Many residents commute to the Wichita area, where major aviation employers and the healthcare sector provide jobs. The town itself is compact, with a family-oriented residential core and a modest commercial center along Merchant Street. The Bartlett Arboretum, a nature preserve with century-old trees, serves as a local civic anchor, and the town holds an annual Tulip Time Festival each April. Belle Plaine has experienced a slight population decline in recent years, and no major new housing developments were identified in publicly available sources.
Belle Plaine Elementary enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a small share of Hispanic students and a similarly small share of students who identify as two or more races. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common indicator of low-income household status. The school serves prekindergarten through fourth grade, so it does not have a graduation rate, and state testing data is available only for the grades that are assessed.
On the Kansas Assessment Program, the school's results show a mixed picture. In third-grade English language arts, roughly half of students scored at the proficient level or above. In fourth-grade English language arts, that share dropped to just over a third. In math, third-grade proficiency was below the half mark, and fourth-grade math was lower still, with about a quarter of students reaching proficiency. The state changed its cut scores for the math and English language arts assessments in this testing cycle, which means the results cannot be directly compared to prior years. When placed alongside other districts in Sumner County, Belle Plaine Elementary's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of the county's districts.
The school does not have publicly available data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these areas, particularly class sizes and support for students who are below grade level in math, where the numbers are softer. The district brief turned up no recent major changes or initiatives of lasting impact, so the school appears to be operating in a stable, if modest, local context.
For a family considering Belle Plaine, the elementary school offers a small-town setting with a student body that is not highly diverse and a significant share of students from low-income households. The academic results are mixed, with English language arts in third grade being the relative bright spot and math proficiency a clear area of concern. The town itself is compact, with a family-oriented feel, a handful of local employers in aviation and manufacturing, and a slight population decline. The school is the entry point for the district, and students will move on to the district's upper grades after fourth grade.
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