Bostic Traditional Magnet Elem, Wichita KS

Original Research by School Decision on Bostic Traditional Magnet Elem

Bostic Traditional Magnet Elementary sits within the Wichita Public School system and serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the city’s east side. The school describes itself as a traditional magnet, which tends to appeal to families who prefer a structured academic approach with clear behavioral expectations and a focus on core instruction. The enrollment is in the mid-hundreds, a size that allows children to be known by staff while still offering grade-level peer groups large enough for classroom variety.

Academically, the data shows a school that performs at a high level relative to other schools within its own district and across Sedgwick County. The proficiency index places Bostic in the top quartile when compared to districts countywide. This is a meaningful marker because Wichita contains many schools with widely varying results, and Bostic’s scores cluster well above the middle. Reading and math results across grades three through five are consistently strong. Fourth graders posted the highest proficiency rates in both reading and math. Fifth graders also showed solid performance in reading and math, and in science, the same grade posted a similarly high proficiency rate. Third graders were somewhat lower, particularly in math, where proficiency was around the halfway mark. This pattern is fairly common among elementary schools; younger students often take time to settle into the testing routine, or their cohort may simply be different from the grades above them. A parent whose child is entering third grade may want to keep an eye on how that grade’s instruction and support develop as the year progresses.

The student body is diverse. No single racial or ethnic group forms a majority. The largest groups are white students and Black students, each making up roughly a quarter of the school. Asian students account for about a fifth, Hispanic students for close to another fifth, and children of two or more races for about a tenth. The mix gives the school a genuinely varied peer environment. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is close to the national average for public elementary schools. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available, so it is not possible to say how the school serves those populations from this source alone.

The school is located in a residential area of east Wichita. Home values in the zip code are near the middle of the Kansas range and have been rising modestly. Rents have also edged up slightly faster than the national rent index. The area is car-dependent, consistent with most of Wichita’s sprawling layout. The broader city economy is anchored by aerospace manufacturing and a working-class industrial base, and Wichita State University is a short drive north of the neighborhood.

Bostic is part of Wichita Public Schools, the largest district in Kansas. The district’s webpage and recent publicly reported changes were not found in the search, so there is no account to give of district-level initiatives, boundary adjustments, or program shifts that might affect this school. The absence of that information means a prospective parent would need to contact the school or district directly to ask about any upcoming changes.

For a family looking for an elementary school in Wichita with strong test results, a structured traditional approach, and a diverse student body, Bostic Traditional Magnet Elementary appears to be a solid option within the district. The third-grade math dip is the one area worth a conversation with the principal. Otherwise, the school’s performance profile is clearly above the local average, and its size should allow for a cohesive school community.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 20% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 482%

School 82% · District 19% · ▲ 63 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 59 pts above county median

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 19% · ▲ 49 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 36% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 482%

School 82% · District 32% · ▲ 50 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 32% · ▲ 41 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Science

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 25% · ▲ 47 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above 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-income63%Higher-income60%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income78%Higher-income86%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income85%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income48%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income70%Higher-income96%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income85%35 pp gap