The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in Science. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lyons Middle School
Lyons Middle School serves grades six through eight in the Lyons school district, a central Kansas public school system. The school is the only middle school in the district and draws from the town of Lyons, a small county seat with a historic Main Street along U.S. Highway 56. Salt mining and manufacturing anchor the local economy, and the community is experiencing a slow population decline even as median household income and property values have risen in recent years. The housing market is notably affordable, with typical home values well below state and national benchmarks, making this a place where a family’s housing dollar goes further than in many parts of Kansas.
The student body is about evenly split between white and Hispanic students, with a small share of students identifying as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a context of higher economic need. Data on English learner and special education enrollment was not available in the records used here, which is a gap a parent may want to discuss with the school directly.
State assessment results from the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) show that proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades are low, and these results place the school below the midpoint among districts in Rice County. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was below a third in each grade, with seventh grade notably weaker than the other two. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: sixth and eighth graders posted modest proficiency rates, while seventh grade was lower. On the eighth-grade science assessment, about three in ten students met the proficiency bar. State testing cut scores changed in the most recent year, which means these results cannot be directly compared to prior years, so a parent should treat the current numbers as a baseline rather than a trend.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information about advanced coursework, career and technical education pathways, or programs beyond the core curriculum was not available in the data provided. For a middle school of this size, a parent would want to ask directly what electives, enrichment, and support programs are offered, as that information is not captured in the public data sources used here.
Lyons Middle School is a neighborhood school in a small, affordable rural community where the local economy is tied to manufacturing and salt processing. The academic proficiency numbers are below the county median, which is a soft spot a family should weigh carefully. A parent considering this school would want to learn more about the specific academic interventions in place, the level of individual support available, and what kinds of programs and activities round out the school day. The student body is diverse in socioeconomic terms, and the school sits in a town with stable civic institutions and a modest economic base. The data does not indicate any recent major district changes or initiatives, so the current picture is one of a traditional rural middle school with low measured academic outcomes and an affordable housing market.
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