The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in English language arts. The lowest is 7% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Buckner Performing Arts Magnet Elem
Buckner Performing Arts Magnet Elementary is a public magnet school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Wichita, Kansas. Its identity is built around a performing arts focus, though the specific program offerings—what arts disciplines are emphasized, how they are integrated into the academic day, or whether there are performance requirements—were not available in the data. Families considering this school for its arts mission will want to ask the school directly for those details.
The student body is diverse and reflects a high level of economic need. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a high-poverty context. Racially, the largest group of students is Black, followed by smaller shares of White, Hispanic, and multiracial students, with very small numbers of Native American and Native Hawaiian students. Enrollment is moderate for an elementary school, with classes spread across the grades.
Academically, state assessment results from the 2024–25 school year show low proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science across the tested grades. In math, the share of students meeting state standards was modest in third and fourth grades but very small in fifth grade. In English language arts, about a third of third and fourth graders were proficient, with a smaller share in fifth grade. Science results for fifth graders were also low. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency across all tested subjects and grades placed it in the bottom quarter relative to districts across Sedgwick County. This comparison uses the county’s school districts as a reference. It is important to note that Kansas implemented new cut scores for math and English language arts during this testing year, which means results are not directly comparable to prior years, and proficiency rates may appear lower as a result of the higher bar.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, chronic absenteeism data, or high school–level outcomes to report. Data on special education and English learner populations were also missing, so those support structures are not available in this profile.
Housing in the surrounding area is moderately priced by national standards. Home values sit near the Kansas state benchmark, and rents are a manageable share of local income, suggesting that living in the school’s attendance zone is financially accessible for many working households. The broader Wichita area is dominated by aerospace manufacturing, with major employers including Spirit AeroSystems, Textron Aviation, Learjet, and Airbus, as well as McConnell Air Force Base and Wichita State University. The city is largely car-dependent, with walkable concentrations in the downtown Old Town district. Population growth has been modest, with development centered on downtown revitalization and the university’s Innovation Campus.
For a family considering Buckner, the magnet’s arts identity is the primary draw, but the academic numbers are clearly below typical benchmarks. A parent should look into how the performing arts curriculum is structured and what academic supports are in place, especially in math and reading. The school serves a high-poverty population, which often comes with additional resources such as Title I funding, but that designation was not confirmed in the data. No recent district-level changes or initiatives were found in the available information. This is a school where the arts focus offers a distinctive environment, but the academic challenges are real and worth investigating directly with the school.
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