The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Elkhart Elem
Elkhart Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the rural community of Elkhart, the county seat of Morton County in far southwestern Kansas. The town sits near the Oklahoma border and roughly an hour from the Colorado line, a small Great Plains city that grew up along the Santa Fe Railway. Elkhart is compact, with a civic core anchored by City Hall and the county courthouse. The school is part of the Elkhart school district, which covers the town and surrounding area. Recent years have seen modest population growth and a slight increase in median household income, though the area remains heavily dependent on health care and wholesale trade for employment. The district itself has not publicly reported any major changes or strategic initiatives in recent years.
The school is a single building that houses all elementary grades, with a total enrollment that is small for its grade band. About two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this school in a higher-poverty context. The student body is roughly split between students who identify as Hispanic or Latino and those who identify as White, with small shares of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Because the school serves only early and elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school lacks state-tested results for later grades that would give a fuller picture of academic trajectory.
On the Kansas state assessments, Elkhart Elementary’s performance varies by subject and grade. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged from about two-fifths to half across the tested grades, with the highest result in third grade. In mathematics, the proficiency rates were lower, with roughly three in ten third-graders, one-third of fourth-graders, and about one in six fifth-graders meeting the bar. Science results for fifth grade were below a third of students. These figures place the school’s overall proficiency index above the midpoint among the two districts in Morton County, meaning it outperforms the other district in the county by a modest margin. Keep in mind that the state changed its cut scores for both math and English language arts in recent years, so direct comparisons to prior years are not reliable from this data alone.
The school environment data is thin: no chronic absenteeism rates were reported, and no staffing or discipline data are available. A parent may want to ask the school directly about class sizes, specialist offerings, and how the school supports students who are behind grade level. The school’s small size can mean more individualized attention, but it may also limit the range of enrichment programs. Information on special education and English learner populations was not provided, so families should inquire about those supports if needed.
Housing in the Elkhart area is notably affordable. Home values are well below both the Kansas and national medians, and they have edged downward over the past year. Mortgage rates nationally have been above six percent, which keeps monthly payments relatively low for a locally priced home. Rents have been rising steadily, but the overall cost of living in the area is moderate.
For a family considering Elkhart Elementary, the school offers a small-town setting with a high-need student population and academic results that are middling in an absolute sense but top of a very small county peer group. The community is quiet and rural, with basic civic amenities. Families who value a very small school, a close-knit feel, and a low housing barrier to entry may find this a workable fit. Those who want a wider range of enrichment programs or stronger test scores will need to weigh the trade-offs and explore what the school offers beyond the data reported here.
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