Original Research by School Decision on Ulysses Community Learning Center (uclc)
Ulysses Community Learning Center (UCLC) is a high school in Ulysses, Kansas, serving grades nine through twelve within the Ulysses school district. It is a small school, with a modest total enrollment that reflects the size of the community it serves. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and white, with a very small share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records we reviewed.
The school sits in Ulysses, a small county-seat city on the High Plains of southwest Kansas. The local economy is driven by agriculture—wheat, corn, and livestock—along with oil and gas extraction. The city has experienced a population decline over the past decade, and the housing market reflects that context: home values in the area are well below the state and national medians, making it a relatively affordable place to live. The high school itself is part of a district that provides PreK-12 programming for the city and surrounding county.
Because UCLC serves only high school grades, state testing data and a graduation rate were not reported in the available data, which is a notable gap for a parent trying to assess academic outcomes. Without proficiency scores or a four-year graduation rate, it is not possible to compare the school’s academic performance against other high schools in the area. A parent would want to seek this information directly from the school or the district, as these are basic measures of how well students are progressing.
The school’s program offerings were also not reported, leaving an unclear picture of what courses, extracurricular activities, or career and technical education pathways are available. For a small high school, this is a relevant question: the range of options often depends on enrollment size and district resources. The district brief turned up little of lasting impact to note about recent changes or initiatives, so the picture is one of stability rather than transition.
Ulysses Community Learning Center is a small, rural high school in a tight-knit community with an agricultural and energy-based economy. The student body is diverse in its ethnic composition, and the cost of living is low relative to much of the country. The central unknowns are academic performance and program breadth, which any family considering this school would want to investigate further with the school itself.
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