The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Science. The lowest is 56% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Kiowa County Elem/jr. High
Kiowa County Elem/Jr. High serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the small rural town of Greensburg, Kansas. This school sits within the Kiowa County district and is the only school in the district serving this grade band. The enrollment is modest and reflects the size of the community it serves.
Greensburg itself is a rural county seat that experienced near-complete destruction from a tornado years ago and rebuilt with an ambitious commitment to sustainability. City buildings meet LEED platinum standards, the town runs entirely on wind-generated electricity, and LED streetlights line the streets. The population has declined since the tornado and continues a slow downward trend. The rebuilt school building, like other municipal structures, was constructed to LEED platinum standards. The community is small enough that civic life and schools are integrated into the town rather than separated onto distant campuses. Bus service connects Greensburg east and west daily, but the nearest Amtrak stop is a considerable drive away, and the closest airports are in Wichita and Dodge City.
The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and very small numbers of other racial and ethnic groups represented. About half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a substantial share and signals that economic need is a real factor in the community. Data on the share of students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the support structures in place for those groups.
Academically, the picture is mixed across grade levels. In the most recent state testing year, math proficiency varied considerably by grade. One elementary grade posted a strong result, with most students meeting the state benchmark. Another grade was somewhat lower, with fewer than half of students reaching that level. A third grade fell in between. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: one grade had a solid showing with a majority of students proficient, while another grade had a weaker result. At the fifth-grade level, where science is tested, a solid majority of students met the state standard. Because the state changed the cut scores for these assessments, year-over-year trend comparisons are not reliable. Overall, the school's proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint relative to the two districts in Kiowa County, so it performs somewhat stronger than the other district in the county but not dramatically so.
Because this school serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Parents with students heading into high school would need to consider the district's high school options separately.
The school does not appear to offer the kind of specialized programs or advanced coursework that larger schools might provide, though the data section on program offerings was empty. No information on discipline rates, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism was available, so those are open questions a family may want to explore.
The Kiowa County district itself did not have any publicly reported recent changes, such as boundary adjustments, new leadership, or program overhauls, that would factor into a parent's decision. The district history and the town's rebuilding story are well documented, but school-level operational changes are absent from the search results.
For a family considering this school, the main considerations are straightforward. This is a small, rural school in a town that has experienced population decline. The student body is not diverse. Academic performance is uneven, with some grades performing well and others showing room for improvement. The school building is modern and energy-efficient, a point of pride in the community. Support for students with economic need is relevant for many families here. A parent with a child entering the upper grades or approaching high school will want to look into the secondary options and how this school prepares students for that transition. There are no state test results for grades six through eight, so the academic picture for the middle school years is largely unknown from the available data. A parent may want to follow up directly with the school about how those grades are assessed and what academic expectations look like as students move through the building.
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