Lenexa Hills Elementary, Lenexa KS

Original Research by School Decision on Lenexa Hills Elementary

Lenexa Hills Elementary sits in the fast-growing Kansas City suburb of Lenexa, a city with a mix of residential neighborhoods, major commercial corridors, and a developing civic core at the Lenexa City Center. The city has drawn heavy investment over the past decade and its population has climbed quickly. Lenexa does not have its own school district; students attend schools in either the Shawnee Mission, Olathe, or De Soto districts. Lenexa Hills belongs to the Shawnee Mission Public Schools district, a large system that has adopted a district-wide personalized learning plan approach and offers specialized high school Signature Programs in fields such as biotechnology, engineering, and medical health sciences.

Lenexa Hills serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The enrollment is of a size typical for a suburban elementary school serving that grade band. A significant share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a metric that measures economic need but does not tell the full story of a family's resources or a child's potential. The student body is majority white, with a substantial Hispanic population and notable Black and multiracial shares; the Asian population is a smaller part of the mix. Data on the share of students who have an Individualized Education Program or who are English learners was not available.

On the Kansas Assessment Program, the state's regular assessment, Lenexa Hills showed a mixed picture across tested grades and subjects. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was close to or above the midpoint in most tested grades, though in one grade it fell to a lower level. The same general pattern held in English language arts, with most grades landing near or above the midpoint, while one grade recorded a somewhat lower rate. In science, where only fifth graders are tested, the school's proficiency rate was solid. State assessment standards were recently revised in both math and reading, which makes direct comparisons with prior years uncertain. Overall, the school's proficiency index, which averages proficiency rates across all tested subjects and grades, placed it in the top quartile among elementary schools in Johnson County districts. That is a strong result for this school within its local context. Still, the individual grade-level variation suggests some cohorts are stronger than others, and a family may want to ask the school how it supports students in the grades where performance was weaker.

Because Lenexa Hills serves only through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism was not available, so it is not possible to assess that dimension from this data. The school is part of a district that has invested in specialized high school pathways, which becomes relevant for families planning beyond elementary school.

The housing market in the Lenexa zip code is more expensive than the Kansas state average, with home values well above the typical Kansas home but close to what is common in Johnson County more broadly. Rents are moderate relative to local incomes, and a family considering a move to this area should weigh the cost of a home purchase against the strong local job market anchored by employers such as UPS, Garmin's international headquarters, and a large Kiewit regional office.

Lenexa Hills Elementary offers a solid academic starting point in a growing city, with proficiency levels that are good for the county. The district's focus on personalized learning plans and its later career and college pathways give a family a longer view of how this school fits into a child's progression through Shawnee Mission Public Schools. A parent considering this school should talk with the principal about how the school addresses the grade-level gaps in performance and what support structures are in place for students who need extra help.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 53% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 57% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 58% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 660%

School 60% · District 58% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 60% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 62% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 63% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 666%

School 66% · District 59% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 54% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolShawnee Mission Pub Sch, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income58%Higher-income54%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income66%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income68%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income81%38 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income67%Higher-income54%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income52%29 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income80%40 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income81%52 pp gap