The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in Science. The lowest is 41% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Williamsburg Elementary School
Williamsburg Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in the small, rural community of Williamsburg, Kansas. The school is part of West Franklin USD, a district that also operates a K-5 school in Appanoose Township and sends older students to West Franklin High School in Pomona, about a drive away. Williamsburg itself is a very small town with a declining population, a compact residential core, and limited commercial activity. Its civic anchors include a community museum open select summer Sundays and an annual June festival called Jayhawker Days. Families living here rely on personal vehicles for most errands and for taking older children to the high school in Pomona.
The school’s enrollment is small, with roughly a hundred students spread evenly across the elementary grades. The student body is predominantly white, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that economic need is present in the community. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source material, so a parent wanting a full picture of specialized services would need to ask the school directly.
Academic results from the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) show a mixed profile that varies notably by grade level and subject. In third grade, the share of students scoring proficient or above in English language arts was below average, while math proficiency was stronger. Fourth grade was a difficult year across the board, with proficiency rates in both English language arts and math dropping considerably. Fifth grade painted a different picture, with the majority of students meeting the proficient bar in math and English language arts, and roughly half reaching that level in science. This pattern, where one grade level performs well while another struggles, is common in small schools where a single cohort of students can heavily influence a grade’s results. Overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades positions the school above the midpoint among districts in Franklin County, but the range of outcomes across the four county districts is tight, so that position reflects a modest difference rather than a wide gap.
No data on chronic absenteeism, disciplinary actions, or course access was available, and the school’s Title I status was not reported in the source materials. Because this is an elementary school serving only through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. A parent should feel comfortable asking the district for information on attendance patterns and any support programs tied to economic need, especially given the share of students who qualify for meal assistance.
Housing in the Williamsburg area is affordable relative to national benchmarks, with home values that have risen in recent years but remain below the national median. The town’s population has been gradually declining over the past several years, and no major new developments were identified in public sources. The district itself has seen little in the way of publicly noted recent changes, so families considering the area should expect a stable, small-school setting without major upheaval or expansion on the horizon.
For a family seeking a very small elementary school in a quiet rural town where housing is relatively affordable and the district covers a broad geographic area that includes a separate high school town, Williamsburg Elementary presents a straightforward option. The academic picture is uneven by grade, which is typical for a school of this size, and a parent would want to stay engaged with their child’s particular classroom experience rather than rely solely on the overall profile. The school’s strengths are clearest in the fifth-grade results, and its challenges are most visible in the fourth-grade year, a pattern the school may be addressing in its own instructional planning.
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