The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in Science. The lowest is 46% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Morris Hill Elem
Morris Hill Elem serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade on the Fort Riley Army installation in Kansas. It is part of Geary County Schools, a district where more than half of the students are connected to the U.S. Army. The school sits on an active military base, not inside a conventional town. Fort Riley is organized into six functional areas, and the built environment is dominated by military facilities, family housing, and support infrastructure. There is no downtown or civilian commercial street life. The everyday texture of the place is shaped by military routines, training operations, and family-support services. Enrollment at Morris Hill is moderate for an elementary school in this grade band, and the student body reflects a mix of backgrounds. Roughly half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that signals a substantial share of families with economic need.
The school’s academic performance on the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) shows a mixed picture, with some subjects and grades stronger than others. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above moves from just over half in third grade to a clear majority in both fourth and fifth grades. That pattern suggests that as students progress through the primary grades, a larger portion meets the state’s proficiency benchmark in reading and writing. In math, the proficiency rates are lower. Third-grade math proficiency stands under two-fifths, fourth-grade math hits right at half, and fifth-grade math is close to half. Science is tested only in fifth grade, and the proficiency rate there is solidly above half, the strongest single result across all subjects and grades. When these results are combined into a single index and placed against the other school districts in Riley County, Morris Hill’s overall proficiency falls below the midpoint of the three-district comparison set. That comparison is useful but narrow, as the county contains only a small number of districts, so the range of performance is limited.
No graduation rate is reported because the school ends at fifth grade. Chronic absenteeism data, staffing information, and discipline records were not available in the data provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about attendance patterns and teacher experience. No information on the share of students with disabilities or English learners was included, either. These are common gaps in some data sets, but a family with a child who has an individualized education plan or is learning English should follow up with the school to understand the support available.
The district itself has been investing in facilities. Publicly reported information shows that Geary County Schools opened a new elementary school on the Fort Riley base in the 2023-2024 school year as part of a six-year capital plan focused on high-quality facilities. That development may affect school assignment boundaries and capacity at Morris Hill and other nearby schools, so military families considering housing on the installation should confirm which elementary school serves their specific neighborhood.
The student body is racially and ethnically diverse. White students make up about half of the enrollment, while Hispanic students account for roughly a fifth, Black students for about one in eight, and multiracial students for a slightly higher share than that. Smaller numbers of Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students are also present. The school’s location on an active military base means that families cycle through with deployments, permanent changes of station, and transitions, so the peer environment includes many children who are accustomed to mobility and a shared military family experience.
For a family considering this school, the main takeaway is that Morris Hill offers a standard elementary program on a military installation with moderate proficiency results that vary by subject and grade. Reading performance is generally stronger than math, and science performance in fifth grade is a notable bright spot. The district is actively building new elementary capacity on base, which speaks to a broader commitment to serving military-connected students. Families who want a deeper look into student support services, class sizes, or specific programs for their child’s needs will want to supplement the available data with a direct conversation with the school.
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