The top reported proficiency rate is 10% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Greeley Elem
Greeley Elem is a very small public elementary school serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in the rural town of Greeley, Kansas, part of the Garnett school district. With enrollment of about that size for a PK-6 building, the school has a grade-by-grade count that thins considerably in the middle elementary years. The student body is almost entirely white, and a substantially larger share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch than is typical. The school is not a charter or magnet and does not serve high school grades, so metrics like a graduation rate do not apply.
State testing data is available only for fourth grade, the one tested grade in this building. On the 2021-22 Kansas assessment, the share of fourth graders meeting proficiency in math was at the very low end of the scale, and in English language arts it was also low. Only about half of enrolled fourth graders took the test, making any single-year result fragile. A parent reviewing these numbers would want to talk directly with the school about what instruction and support look like on the ground, especially since the participation rate raises questions about how representative the results are. The school’s overall proficiency index, averaging across the two tested subjects, sits in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Anderson County—a comparison set of only two districts, so the bracket is narrow. No multi-year trend data is available to show whether performance has been moving in any direction.
The peer environment is shaped by the school’s size and rural setting. With a handful of students per grade, children interact across age groups and receive a high degree of individual attention from staff. Classrooms are small, and families likely know each other well. The community itself reflects that: Greeley is a very small, primarily residential town with a short main street and a strong homeownership rate. The built environment is car-dependent, and older students in grades seven through twelve attend a separate campus in Garnett, the county seat, about ten miles north, so the elementary school anchors the town’s daily rhythm for families with younger children.
Housing in Greeley is notably more affordable than national benchmarks. Property values have risen recently, but remain below the state median, consistent with the area’s long-term population decline followed by a modest recent uptick. No major new housing developments or commercial projects were identified in publicly available sources. The town’s civic anchors include the Union Pacific Railroad line and its location in the Pottawatomie Valley; no parks or libraries were specifically noted in search results.
The most important fact for any family looking at Greeley Elem is that the school is closing. The Garnett school board has adopted a resolution to dispose of the building due to continued low enrollment, age and needed repairs, and the availability of space at another district elementary school. All current PreK-6 students will move to another operating elementary school in the district. This means the school as an institutional presence will no longer exist after this transition, and families considering the area should plan for the consolidation. The receiving school’s location, size, academic profile, and program offerings are not detailed in the available data, so those are questions to raise with the district directly.
For a family who values a very small, rural school with strong community ties and lower housing costs, Greeley Elem represents a snapshot of that experience—but its closure makes it effectively a transitional option. The academic data, while limited and drawn from a single grade with a low participation rate, points to a building where achievement was below county medians, and the school’s future is now elsewhere.
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