The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Edith Scheuerman Elem
Edith Scheuerman Elementary serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Garden City, a southwestern Kansas city whose economy centers on agriculture and meatpacking, with Tyson Fresh Meats as the dominant employer and a significant immigrant workforce from Myanmar, Somalia, Vietnam, and Latin America. The school is part of the Garden City public school district and sits in a community that has seen modest population decline since 2020 after decades of growth driven by the meatpacking industry and immigration.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, making up the large majority of enrollment. White students account for most of the rest, with small numbers of Asian, Black, and multiracial students also enrolled. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s enrollment is small for an elementary school serving grades kindergarten through four, and there is an even distribution of students across each grade level from kindergarten through fourth grade.
State assessment results from the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) are available for the most recent school year in both English language arts and math for third and fourth graders. In English language arts, roughly two out of five third graders and a modestly higher share of fourth graders scored at the proficient level or above. In math, roughly three out of ten third graders and a similar share of fourth graders reached proficiency. These proficiency rates place the school’s overall performance across tested grades and subjects in the top quartile relative to other districts in Finney County, though it is important to note that the comparison set is small, involving only two districts in the county. The state of Kansas changed its cut scores for these assessments, which means current results cannot be directly compared to those from prior years, so there is no reliable year-over-year trend data to report.
The school does not serve grades that have a graduation rate, and the data did not include chronic absenteeism rates or information about discipline, staffing, or attendance. We looked for information about special programs or course access, but none was available. Given the grade band, this is not unusual for an early elementary school, as such offerings are typically associated with secondary schools.
Housing in the Garden City zip code is somewhat below the state median home value. The local unemployment rate and median household income are broadly in line with national patterns. The city has a traditional downtown core with the county courthouse and historic buildings, but schools are on separate campuses rather than integrated into the downtown. The city is car-dependent for daily errands, and typical commute times are short, consistent with a self-contained regional center.
The district brief showed no recent major changes, policy shifts, or restructuring that would be of immediate note to parents. Garden City as a whole has seen some outward expansion of its land area through annexation, but no large new housing developments were identified in the search.
For a family considering Edith Scheuerman, the picture is of a small, majority-Hispanic elementary school in a community shaped by agricultural and meatpacking employment, with state assessment results that are above the midpoint for the county in a very small field of comparison. The absence of data on discipline, attendance, staffing, and special programs means a parent who wants a fuller picture of daily school climate, teacher experience, or enrichment opportunities would need to reach out directly to the school.
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