Minneha Core Knowledge Elem, Wichita KS

Original Research by School Decision on Minneha Core Knowledge Elem

Minneha Core Knowledge Elementary sits within the Wichita Public Schools district, the largest in Kansas. The school serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Its name points to a Core Knowledge curriculum, a structured, content-rich approach that builds a shared foundation of history, science, literature, and the arts grade by grade. For a parent seeking a clear academic sequence in the early years, this is a distinctive offering within a large urban district.

The student body is diverse. No single group forms a majority. White students and Black students each make up about a quarter of the enrollment, Hispanic students account for roughly a fifth, and Asian students and students of two or more races each represent around a tenth. This mix gives the school a multiethnic peer environment. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Minneha in a high-poverty context.

On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, proficiency rates in English language arts were higher than in math, but the overall pattern shows a school where many students are not meeting state academic benchmarks. In third grade, a moderate share of students reached the proficient or advanced level. By fourth grade that share shrank, and by fifth grade it was lower still. Math results were lower across the board, with the fifth-grade rate particularly weak. Science results, tested only in fifth grade, were also low. The state changed its cut scores for math and science that same year, which makes direct comparisons to prior years unreliable, but the current performance level is clear. Among districts in Sedgwick County, Minneha’s overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile.

The school’s environment is that of a traditional elementary within a large city. Wichita itself is an industrial and commercial hub, anchored by aerospace manufacturing. The city is sprawling and car-dependent, though downtown areas like Old Town offer some walkable street life. Minneha is located on the east side of Wichita, along Webb Road. The neighborhood housing market shows home values and rents that are roughly in line with national medians. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been hovering in the mid-six percent range, and the national unemployment rate remains low, which provides some broader economic context for families considering a move.

Because this is a pre-K through grade 5 school, there is no graduation rate to report, and the data did not include chronic absenteeism figures or staffing ratios. A parent interested in the specific supports available for students with disabilities or English learners would need to ask the school directly, as those counts were not reported in the available data. The school is not a charter and its magnet and Title I status were not specified.

Minneha offers a defined academic model in a setting that reflects the economic and demographic diversity of east Wichita. The school’s lower proficiency rates are a soft spot worth investigating. A parent may want to visit, speak with the principal about how the Core Knowledge curriculum is implemented, and ask about enrichment or intervention programs that support students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards. The school’s place within the larger Wichita district means that families considering it should also understand the district’s policies on school choice, transportation, and feeder patterns into middle and high school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 20% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 19% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 36% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 32% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 32% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 6 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 3Lower-income40%Higher-income60%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income29%Higher-income56%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income64%42 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income28%Higher-income36%8 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income69%51 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income13%Higher-income41%28 pp gap