The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Woodland Health / Wellness Magnet Elem
Woodland Health / Wellness Magnet Elementary serves a specific purpose inside the Wichita public school system. As a PK through 5 magnet focused on health and wellness themes, it is designed to attract families interested in that particular curricular emphasis, drawing students from across the district rather than serving only its immediate neighborhood. The school sits near downtown Wichita in a part of the city where the built environment shifts between older residential blocks, commercial corridors, and industrial zones tied to the aerospace manufacturing that anchors the region’s economy.
Enrollment is small, typical of an elementary magnet. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a much smaller share of white students, a modest Black population, and the rest drawn from other racial and ethnic groups. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, notably higher than the state average and reflecting the economic composition of the surrounding area. The school has not reported its English learner or special education counts, so a parent weighing those supports would want to ask the school directly about its programs in those areas.
State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year come with an important caveat: Kansas changed its cut scores for math, English language arts, and science that year, making direct comparisons to prior years unreliable. In this first year under the new standards, Woodland’s proficiency rates across subjects and grades fell below the district’s already low median and well below the countywide median for elementary schools. In math, roughly one in five third and fourth graders scored at proficient or above, while fifth graders did somewhat better at about one in four. English language arts results were higher than math but still below the county median: about two in five third graders were proficient, declining to roughly one in four by fifth grade. Fifth grade science proficiency landed at roughly one in four as well. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile relative to other elementary schools across Sedgwick County.
Given the district’s size and the magnet’s thematic focus, the low state assessment numbers likely reflect a combination of factors, including the high concentration of students from households facing economic challenges and the fact that magnet programs often serve a higher share of students who require additional academic support. A parent reading these results should not interpret them as a judgment on the health and wellness focus itself, but rather as a signal about the school’s overall academic profile. The school has not reported data on chronic absenteeism or other environmental metrics, which would provide further context on the learning conditions.
The magnet theme itself is a distinguishing feature. While the data set does not detail how health and wellness content is integrated into the curriculum, the school’s name signals a commitment to physical activity, nutrition education, and possibly social-emotional learning in a way that a standard elementary school does not. For a parent whose child needs structure around healthy habits or whose family values that orientation, the magnet may offer a meaningful match regardless of the test numbers.
Housing in the surrounding zip code is below the state median home value, though values have risen at a modest pace, and rents have increased more sharply recently. A family moving into the area for the magnet should expect a typical Wichita experience: car-dependent daily life, with walkable nodes only near the Old Town district and the downtown core. The school sits on the near west side, close enough to downtown to be convenient for parents working in the city center or the industrial campuses.
Woodland Health / Wellness Magnet stands as a small, high-poverty magnet with a distinctive curricular focus. Its academic performance is low relative to other elementary schools in the county, a reality a parent should weigh against the potential benefits of the health and wellness theme and the school’s position within the broader Wichita system. Missing data on special population services and classroom staffing are gaps a parent will want to fill through direct conversation with the school.
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