The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Southeast Middle School
Southeast Middle School sits in the small, rural town of Cherokee in southern Crawford County, serving grades five through eight. The school shares the town with Southeast Junior High and Southeast High School, all part of the Cherokee district, which also draws students from the surrounding communities of McCune, Sherman, Weir, and West Mineral. Cherokee itself is a compact crossroads town with a Dollar General, a clinic, a bank, and a handful of churches and community organizations like the Ruritan Club and American Legion. The population has been in decline for some time. Housing values are low relative to state and national benchmarks, and no major new development or commercial expansion has been identified. Most residents commute by car, and the district’s central offices are located within town.
The school enrolls a small student body. The student population is predominantly white. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on special education eligibility and English learner status was not available, so a parent with a child in one of those categories may want to ask the school directly about available supports.
State testing results from the latest year are mixed and, in several subject-grade combinations, sit at levels a parent may want to understand better. Kansas uses the KAP assessment, and recent cut-score changes mean the results should be viewed with an awareness that the bar for proficiency may have shifted, making direct comparisons to prior years unreliable. In math, proficiency rates across all four tested grades were low. English language arts results were higher but still modest overall: fifth graders posted the strongest showing, with a rate above half of students meeting proficiency, while results in sixth and seventh grades were lower, and eighth graders were lower still. In science, fifth graders performed at a rate that lagged behind their ELA results, and eighth graders tested well below that. The school’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint among the districts in Crawford County.
The school’s environment is shaped by its small size and rural setting. The buildings and district offices are integrated into town rather than isolated on a campus. Street life is quiet day to day, with community energy concentrated around seasonal events such as a fall festival and summer car shows. Most families who live in Cherokee and the surrounding unincorporated areas send their children here, so the peer group is the local population.
A search for recent district-level changes, such as curriculum shifts, building referendums, or program expansions, turned up little of substance. The district has not publicly reported major strategic changes in the last few years, which likely means the school continues to operate on an established footing rather than undergoing a transformation.
For a family considering this school, the picture is straightforward. It serves a declining rural area with a small student body that is not diverse. State test results are below the county median, especially in math and science. Housing in Cherokee is inexpensive, and the town offers basic amenities but no library or public transit within its borders. A parent who values a small, familiar school in a quiet rural setting may find it a comfortable fit, while one seeking stronger academic metrics or a wider range of programming options would want to investigate further with the school itself.
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