The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Woodrow Wilson Elem
Woodrow Wilson Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Hays, a city that functions as the economic and cultural hub of northwestern Kansas. The school sits within the Hays district, which includes several elementary buildings feeding into a single middle and high school system. For families looking at this school, the context matters: Hays is a small city anchored by Fort Hays State University, a major hospital system in HaysMed, and a downtown centered on the county courthouse. The city has a Volga German heritage and a compact layout typical of a railroad-era grid, with Interstate 70 providing highway access. Housing values in the area have risen modestly in recent years, and rents are such that buying a home is more expensive than renting on a monthly basis, a pattern that reflects the broader national trend.
Academically, Woodrow Wilson Elementary posts results that place it clearly above its peers. Among the handful of districts in Ellis County, the school ranks in the top quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. On state assessments in math, the share of students meeting proficiency rises steadily from third grade to fifth grade, with the strongest showing in the upper grade. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: proficiency rates are solid across all three tested grades and climb meaningfully by fifth grade. Science is tested only in fifth grade, and here the proficiency rate is lower, a softer spot that a parent may want to look into further with the school. The state changed its cut scores for these assessments in recent years, so year-over-year trend comparisons are not reliable from the data available.
The student body is enrolled at a size that is moderate for an elementary building in this region. Racially and ethnically, the school is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and very low numbers of other racial groups. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a notable share of families with lower household income. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about support structures for those groups.
The Hays district itself did not have any major recent changes or strategic priorities surfaced in publicly available materials, so the narrative around growth comes from the city level. Hays has modernized steadily over the past century, evolving from a frontier railroad town into a regional service center. The presence of the university and the hospital provides economic stability, and the city continues to serve as a trading and shipping point for the surrounding area. No specific information on new housing developments or population growth trends was found in the research, but the city’s role as a regional hub suggests steady demand.
For a family considering Woodrow Wilson, the takeaway is straightforward. This is a school where academic proficiency is strong, especially by fifth grade, and where the peer environment is relatively homogeneous. The setting is a small city with a clear downtown, a university campus, and highway access. The housing market is moderately priced compared to national benchmarks. The school itself does not appear to have any special program offerings or designations such as charter or magnet status, and Title I status was not reported. The available data paints a picture of a solid, above-average elementary school in a stable regional center, with one area of softer performance in fifth-grade science that merits a closer look.
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