The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kennedy Elem
Kennedy Elem serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Wellington, Kansas. It is one of the elementary schools in the Wellington school district and sits in Sumner County. The enrollment is small, and the student body is predominantly white, with a notable share of Hispanic students and a smaller proportion of students who identify as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
State testing results from the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) show a wide range of performance across subjects and grade levels, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school. In reading, about half of third and fifth graders met the proficiency standard, while fourth graders reached a lower share. In math, the results are considerably lower across all tested grades. In science, which is tested in fifth grade, about a third of students scored proficient or above. Because Kansas changed its cut scores for math and English language arts in the same year these results were collected, the state warns that these scores are not directly comparable to prior years. That means it is difficult to tell from this single year whether the school is improving or declining, though the numbers themselves are soft.
Relative to other districts in Sumner County, Kennedy Elem places in the bottom quartile on an overall proficiency index that averages results across tested subjects and grades. The county comparison set includes eight districts, so this is a clear signal that academic attainment at this school trails most of its neighbors in the county.
Wellington, the city where the school is located, is the county seat and a small agricultural-region trade center. It is known historically as a winter wheat hub and has railroad, petroleum, and aircraft parts manufacturing in its economic mix. The population has been declining over recent decades, a trend that continued according to the most recent census estimates. The housing market is relatively affordable, with home values well below the national benchmark and a modest year-over-year increase. The national unemployment rate was steady at the time of this data. The city has a historic downtown district, a Carnegie library, a lake, and a local museum, and it hosts an annual wheat festival.
On the school environment side, several common data points are missing. There is no information on chronic absenteeism, discipline incidents, course access, or staffing ratios. The school did not report its Title I status, and special population counts for students with disabilities and English learners were also absent. The school is not a charter school. No recent district-level changes such as bond measures, boundary shifts, or curriculum overhauls were identified in publicly available records, so the district appears to have been operating without major disruptions in the last few years.
For a family considering this school, the picture is mixed. The school is small, which may appeal to those who want a close-knit elementary setting. The community itself is a slow-declining rural seat with a low cost of housing. Academically, the proficiency data raises questions, especially in math, where results are low across every tested grade. The reading and science numbers are somewhat better but still inconsistent by grade. The lack of longitudinal data due to the cut-score change makes it hard to judge momentum, and the missing information on discipline and staffing means a parent would need to contact the school directly to round out the picture.
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