The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Science. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Skelly Elementary School
Skelly Elementary School, a public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade, is part of El Dorado USD 490 in Butler County, Kansas. The school sits within El Dorado, a community that functions as the county seat and a satellite of the Wichita metropolitan area. El Dorado has a mixed-use identity: a traditional downtown grid, a large oil refinery on its southwest edge, and Butler Community College as an institutional presence. The city has a network of parks and a bike path, and El Dorado State Park lies just beyond the city limits. The west side of El Dorado is served by a separate district, but Skelly draws from the main part of town.
Enrollment at Skelly is modest for an elementary school. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic minority and a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher-poverty context. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners were not available, so that part of the school’s support profile is unclear.
Academically, Skelly’s performance on the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) falls below most of its peers when measured across Butler County districts. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results from tested subjects and grades, sits in the bottom quartile relative to the county’s districts. In reading and English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above varied by grade but was lower than the county median. Math proficiency was also below the county median across the tested grades. Science proficiency, tested only in fifth grade, was in a similar range. Because the state changed cut scores for these assessments in recent years, direct comparisons with earlier results are not possible, and families should be aware that the current numbers reflect a new baseline.
The school offers no high school grade levels, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information about program offerings such as art, music, or extracurricular activities was not available in the data reviewed. Similarly, discipline data and chronic absenteeism rates were not reported, which limits the picture of school climate. A parent who wants to understand the full range of student supports or enrichment options would benefit from reaching out to the school directly.
Housing costs in the area are moderate. Home values and rents fall below the state and national averages, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment for a typical home is lower than the national figure. The broader economic context shows a median household income that sits below the national median, which aligns with the school’s high share of students qualifying for meal assistance. The local unemployment rate has been steady at a modest level.
Recent district-level changes that might affect families, such as curriculum shifts or facility plans, were not found within the past several years. A bond issue for renovations and safety upgrades was passed further back but falls outside the window of current parent-relevant news.
Skelly Elementary serves a community with a working-class, industrial, and small-college-town character. Its academic results suggest that a family considering this school would want to ask about specific instructional supports, particularly in math and reading, and understand how the school addresses the needs of a student population where a high proportion faces economic disadvantage. The school’s moderate size means class sizes may be manageable, but without staffing data that is not confirmed. The setting is a traditional small city with both downtown and suburban-style residential areas, and the broader Wichita area provides additional opportunities for employment and higher education.
See more original research from School Decision →