The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in Science. The lowest is 42% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on El Paso Elem
El Paso Elem serves children from preschool through fifth grade in Derby, a Kansas city that sits just southeast of Wichita. The school is part of Derby USD 260, and its building is located on East Crestway in a residential part of town. With an enrollment that places it among the smaller elementary schools in the district, the school draws from a surrounding community of single-family homes that has seen steady population growth. Derby has doubled in size over a span of several decades and is listed among the fastest-growing cities in the state, a fact that shapes the housing market. Home values and rents in the area have been rising, and the city offers a range of parks, recreation facilities, and a public library, but the suburban layout means most families rely on cars for daily travel.
The student body at El Paso Elem is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that represents a meaningful share and much smaller numbers of Black, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a share that signals a school community where a substantial number of households are managing modest budgets. The school does not report numbers for students with disabilities or English learners in the available data, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about the level of special education and language support services.
State testing results for the most recent year show a mixed picture that parents will want to consider grade by grade. In English language arts, third graders posted a proficiency rate that is a clear strength for the school, with a large majority of students meeting the state benchmark. Fourth grade ELA performance, however, dropped notably, returning to a level where fewer than half of students scored proficient. Fifth graders rebounded to a stronger result, with better than even odds of proficiency. A similar pattern appears in math. Third graders showed a proficiency rate near the middle of the range, fourth graders again saw a drop, and fifth graders reached their strongest math result. In science, tested only in fifth grade, the school posted a rate where a majority of students were proficient. When the school is compared against all districts in Sedgwick County on an overall proficiency index that averages across tested subjects and grades, El Paso Elem sits below the midpoint of the county’s districts. The trend is uneven, with some grades performing well and others lagging, and the lack of year-over-year trend data makes it difficult to tell whether these swings are typical or point to a pattern.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, no data on chronic absenteeism, and no information about discipline or course access. The district brief turned up no recent major changes or initiatives to report, so a parent interested in the district’s direction may want to attend a school board meeting or check district communications for current priorities. The school itself does not appear to have a charter or magnet status, and its Title I status was not provided.
For a family looking at El Paso Elem, the school offers a small elementary setting in a growing suburban community with a mix of economic backgrounds. The academic performance varies enough by grade level and subject that a parent may want to ask the principal and teachers about how the school supports students in years where proficiency dips, particularly fourth grade, and how it sustains the stronger results seen in third grade ELA and fifth grade math and science. The district overall serves a single high school and two middle schools, so elementary students here would eventually feed into those schools, but the elementary experience itself is self-contained. The surrounding neighborhood is car-oriented, with parks and a recreation center nearby, and the city’s ongoing growth means new housing is added regularly, though prices have been climbing.
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