Black Traditional Magnet Elem, Wichita KS

Original Research by School Decision on Black Traditional Magnet Elem

Black Traditional Magnet Elementary serves students in prekindergarten through fifth grade in Wichita, Kansas. The school is part of the Wichita public school district, the largest district in the state. It is labeled a magnet school, and its name indicates a traditional, structured approach to instruction. The student body is small for an elementary school serving those grade levels. The largest demographic groups are White students and Hispanic students, each making up a substantial share of enrollment. Black students make up a smaller but still notable portion. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a marker of economic need.

The school’s academic performance, as measured by the Kansas Assessment Program for the most recent school year, shows a mixed picture. In English language arts, third graders met the proficient or above threshold at a rate that is roughly in the middle of the range one might see. Fourth and fifth graders had lower proficiency rates in that subject. In math, proficiency rates across grades three, four, and five were all low. On the fifth-grade science assessment, the proficiency rate was also low. When compared with other elementary schools in Sedgwick County that report these results, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed in the bottom quartile of the cohort. These are soft spots any parent would want to understand better by talking directly with the school about its curriculum, interventions, and academic supports.

The school is located in the city of Wichita. Wichita is a large, industrial city anchored by a long history of aircraft manufacturing, with major employers in that sector still operating design and production facilities. The city is largely car-dependent, though downtown has some walkable nodes and cultural offerings. The housing in the school’s ZIP code is moderately priced relative to the state and nation, with home values and rents that have risen modestly in recent periods. The school sits in a residential area, as most district facilities do, and the broader housing market reflects a city that has seen modest population growth in recent years.

Because the school serves only elementary grades, it does not have a high school graduation rate to report, nor does it have data on course access or postsecondary pathways, which apply to middle and high schools. The available data also does not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, or teacher staffing. These gaps mean a family looking at Black Traditional Magnet Elementary may want to reach out to the school or the district for details on school climate, how the school supports students who are behind academically, and what the traditional magnet model looks like day to day. The school’s academic results suggest that families for whom strong test performance is a priority may want to look into the school’s approach closely. The school serves a student body with high economic need, and it operates within a large urban district that has many elementary options, so a family choosing this school will likely be doing so deliberately for the traditional magnet program.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 20% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 19% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 19% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 36% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 32% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 32% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 25% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolWichita, 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 5Lower-income34%Higher-income55%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income13%Higher-income27%14 pp gap