The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in English language arts. The lowest is 40% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Woodrow Wilson Elem
Woodrow Wilson Elementary sits in Manhattan, Kansas, a college city anchored by Kansas State University. The school serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of the Manhattan-Ogden school district. The school’s building is located near the downtown area on Juliette Avenue, putting it within a short distance of the city’s commercial core and the university campus.
Manhattan itself is the county seat of Riley County and functions as a trading and processing center for the surrounding agricultural region. The city’s largest employer is Kansas State University, and the second-largest is the school district itself. Fort Riley, a major Army installation, lies to the southwest, and many military and civilian personnel employed there live in Manhattan. A family considering this school would be entering a community shaped significantly by the student population, the university’s research and teaching mission, and the presence of the military base nearby. The city has grown steadily over the decades and offers recreational anchors such as Tuttle Creek Reservoir to the north and the Konza Prairie tallgrass preserve to the south.
The student body at Woodrow Wilson Elementary is diverse in its composition. White students make up the largest share, with substantial representation of students who identify as two or more races, Hispanic, Black, and Asian. A small number of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students are also enrolled. More than half of the students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need that families may want to consider when thinking about the peer environment and available supports. The school does not have publicly reported data on the share of students with individualized education programs or the number of English learners, so a parent with specific questions about those resources should follow up directly with the school.
State testing results from the most recent year show a varied picture. In English language arts, students in fourth grade posted a high proficiency rate, while third and fifth graders also demonstrated a solid share of students meeting the state’s proficiency bar. Math results were more uneven. Fourth graders again performed well, but third and fifth graders had a smaller share of students scoring at the proficient level. Fifth graders took the state science assessment and a majority of them scored as proficient. It is worth noting that Kansas made changes to the cut scores for its state tests in reading and math, which means the results from this year cannot be directly compared to earlier years. A parent may want to ask the school about how these scores compare to other elementary schools in the district and about what academic supports are available for students who are not yet meeting the proficiency threshold in math.
Because Woodrow Wilson serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages all tested subjects and grades, sits below the midpoint when compared against other districts in Riley County. This is a relative position that reflects the results described above. A parent researching this school will want to dig into whether the academic trajectory and support services align with their child’s needs.
The neighborhood around the school sits in a part of Manhattan that combines older residential streets with proximity to the downtown grid. Housing values in the area have appreciated at a modest pace in the past year, and the cost of renting has also risen. The typical monthly cost of a mortgage on a home at the area’s median value is higher than the typical rent payment, reflecting a market where buying may be more expensive on a month-to-month basis than renting. The broader economic context for the nation shows a median household income that has inched upward in recent years, with mortgage rates near the midpoint of their recent range.
The district brief did not surface any specific recent referendum, bond election, or major policy initiative from the Manhattan-Ogden district, so that area remains a question a family could explore through local district communications or school board meetings. A parent new to the area may also want to learn more about the transition from Wilson Elementary to the middle and high schools that students in this attendance zone feed into.
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