The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Science. The lowest is 58% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Minneola Elem
Minneola Elem serves students from preschool through eighth grade in a single school that covers the full pre-high-school span for the community. The school is part of the Minneola district in Clark County, Kansas, and sits in a small, compact rural town on the high plains where a grain elevator marks the edge of town and most businesses serve the surrounding farming and ranching economy. The town itself is tightly laid out, roughly five blocks by eight blocks, so the school is integrated into the daily life of the place rather than isolated on a separate campus. A new high school building was completed publicly reported some years ago, and at the elementary and middle level the school operates within the same community footprint.
The student body is small, as the enrollment reflects a community of modest size. The racial and ethnic composition leans heavily white, with a share of Hispanic students and a handful of other backgrounds. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a substantial share of families work in lower-income agricultural or service roles. The grade configuration means that children spend many years in the same building with the same peer group, and parents considering the school should be aware that this setting offers continuity but also limited class-size variation from year to year.
On state assessments, which use the Kansas Assessment Program, the school shows a mixed picture. In math, proficiency rates vary notably by grade level. The lower elementary grades performed at a level many families would find solid, with rates that suggest a majority of students met the state bar. The fifth-grade math results were softer, with a share below that mark, while by seventh and especially eighth grade the rates climbed and were strong. A similar pattern appears in English language arts. The third-grade reading proficiency rate was quite high, but fourth and especially fifth grade dropped off considerably. The sixth and seventh grades recovered to a more typical range, and eighth grade again returned a high rate. In science, the fifth-grade proficiency rate was modest, while the eighth-grade rate was very high. The overall proficiency index, which combines all tested subjects and grades, places the school above the midpoint relative to the only other district in Clark County. Because the school uses a single building for a wide grade range, scores can shift meaningfully from one cohort to the next, and a family looking at a single grade's result should consider whether that cohort happened to be stronger or weaker in a given year.
The school is not a charter and there was no data available on its Title I status, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism, so those factors could not be assessed. The district itself had no publicly reported recent changes or strategic priorities that the research was able to find. Housing in the area is modestly priced compared to state and national benchmarks, with values that have seen a slight recent decline. The local unemployment rate and the national median household income context suggest an economy that is stable but not growing quickly.
Minneola Elem offers a full pre-K-through-eighth-grade experience in a very small rural district where a child is likely to be well known across the school. The academic results show some notable highs in the middle and upper grades alongside a softer patch in the middle elementary years, especially in reading and math at fifth grade. A parent considering this school will want to discuss with the principal how the school supports students who hit that dip and how transitions between elementary and middle grades are handled. The peer environment is small, largely white, and economically mixed, which is typical for the region. The town itself has basic amenities, a hospital, a library, parks, and a civic center, but limited retail and few growth pressures. For a family seeking a tightly knit rural school where a child can stay with familiar peers and teachers for a decade, Minneola Elem fits that profile. For a family seeking broad program variety or a more diverse student body, the school's small size and location will be the limiting factors.
See more original research from School Decision →