The top reported proficiency rate is 15% in English language arts. The lowest is 2% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Park Elementary
ParkElementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Wichita, Kansas, as part of the Wichita public school district. It is a neighborhood school with a modest enrollment for its grade band, located in the north central part of the city near the Arkansas River corridor. The school’s student body is predominantly Hispanic, with Black, White, and multiracial students making up smaller shares, and a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native and Asian students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is high, reflecting the economic circumstances of the families it serves.
State testing results from the Kansas Assessment Program show that proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science are low. In math, the percentage of students scoring proficient or above was in the lower single digits in each tested grade. In English language arts, about one in six students in third and fourth grade met the proficient bar, and about one in eight in fifth grade. In fifth-grade science, fewer than one in twenty students reached proficiency. Measured against the proficiency index for all tested subjects and grades, Park Elementary sits in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Sedgwick County. No data on chronic absenteeism or graduation rate were available, the latter because the school does not serve high school grades. A parent may want to talk with the school about the academic supports and interventions in place given the performance pattern.
Wichita is Kansas’s largest city and an industrial and commercial hub, with aerospace manufacturing as the dominant economic force. The built environment is sprawling and largely car-dependent, with walkable street life concentrated in the Old Town district and downtown. The school itself sits on North Main Street, a major north-south artery, in a part of the city that reflects the wider pattern of low-density residential and commercial development. The district, Wichita Public Schools, is the largest in the state and operates schools across a wide geographic area. No recent district-level changes were surfaced in publicly available information, so this narrative does not describe any.
Housing in the area around the school is moderately priced compared to state and national benchmarks. Home values have seen a modest recent uptick, while rents have risen more sharply. For a family considering the neighborhood, the estimated monthly mortgage payment is somewhat higher than the median rent, but rent as a share of income remains manageable for households earning the median income. The local unemployment rate is near the national average, and real median household income nationally has inched upward in recent years.
Park Elementary is a school that serves a high-poverty population and where academic achievement on state assessments is well below typical levels. The school does not report data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status, so a parent may want to ask about those programs directly. The surrounding community is a large, economically diverse city with a strong industrial base, though the school’s immediate area is not described in detail in the available information. For families who value a neighborhood elementary school with a diverse student body and are aware of the academic challenges, this school offers a clear picture of where it stands.
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