The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Charles O Stones Intermediate Ctr
Charles O Stones Intermediate Center serves students in grades five through eight in Garden City, a High Plains agricultural and meatpacking hub that functions as the county seat of Finney County. The school sits within the Garden City school district, and its enrollment of roughly three hundred sixty students makes it a mid-sized intermediate building. Almost all students are in fifth or sixth grade, with fewer than a handful in seventh and eighth, so the school effectively operates as a fifth- and sixth-grade center.
Garden City’s character is shaped by the meatpacking industry, with Tyson Fresh Meats as the largest employer. The population is majority Hispanic, with significant immigrant communities from Myanmar, Somalia, Vietnam, and Latin America. That diversity is reflected in the school’s student body, where the largest group is Hispanic students, followed by white and Asian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The local housing market shows home values slightly below the Kansas state median, and typical commutes are short.
State assessment results from the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) are available for fifth and sixth graders in math, English language arts, and science. Performance is below the midpoint in all areas. In math, a minority of students met proficiency in both fifth and sixth grade. In English language arts, roughly a quarter to a third of students scored proficient. Science results for fifth grade were similar. The school’s overall proficiency index falls on the lower end when placed against the other districts in Finney County. Parents should note that Kansas recently changed its assessment cut scores, which makes direct comparisons with prior years uncertain. No data were available for grades seven and eight, likely because very few students in those grades are enrolled.
Because Charles O Stones is an intermediate school that does not serve high school grades, there is no four-year graduation rate to report. The school’s website and publicly available information do not include details about program offerings such as electives, advanced coursework, or arts programs. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, and special education or English learner counts were not provided. Given the high poverty rate and the community’s significant immigrant population, families may want to ask the school directly about supports for English learners and how the school addresses the academic challenges that often accompany high poverty.
Garden City itself is a compact, car-dependent city with a traditional downtown anchored by the Finney County courthouse. Civic amenities include a large park with a zoo and a renovated water park. The city has seen modest population decline since the 2020 census after earlier growth driven by immigration and meatpacking. The school district’s recent changes were not publicly detailed in the sources searched, so nothing specific about new programs or facilities is available to describe.
In short, Charles O Stones Intermediate Center serves a diverse, predominantly low-income student body in a community centered on agriculture and meatpacking. Academic performance on state tests is below the typical levels for the county. A parent considering this school will find a supportive district context in a tight-knit city, but should expect to engage directly with the school to understand how it addresses the learning needs of its students, particularly given the limited public data on programs and student supports.
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