Crossroads - Central Street, Kansas City MO

Original Research by School Decision on Crossroads - Central Street

Crossroads - Central Street is a charter school in Kansas City, Missouri, serving students from preschool through sixth grade. Located in the Crossroads Arts District on Central Street, it sits within a city known for its mix of downtown walkability, historic boulevards, and car-dependent residential neighborhoods. The school is part of the Crossroads Charter Schools district, a network that operates as a single charter authorized by Kansas City Public Schools following a recent sponsor change.

The student body is modest in size for a PK-6 school. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial and ethnic makeup is diverse, with the largest group being Black students, followed by White students, Hispanic students, and small shares of Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiracial students. The school is a regular public charter, not a magnet or alternative program.

State testing data from the Missouri Assessment Program is available for the 2024-25 school year across grades three through six in math and English language arts, and for grade five in science. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above declines markedly as grade level rises. Third graders show a proficiency rate that is moderate, but by fourth grade it drops, and the decline continues into fifth and sixth grades. A similar pattern appears in English language arts: third and fourth graders perform around a moderate level, fifth graders dip slightly, and sixth graders show a notably lower rate. In fifth-grade science, proficiency is relatively low. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it above the midpoint relative to districts in Jackson County. Still, the downward trend by grade, particularly the steep drop between elementary and sixth grade, is a pattern a parent may want to look into further with the school. Only a single year of assessment data is available, so no trend line can be drawn yet.

No information was provided on programs such as advanced coursework, arts, or extracurricular offerings at this campus. The district brief publicly reports that the Crossroads Charter Schools network has received a long-term charter renewal and now operates under Kansas City Public Schools as its sponsor. It also notes that the district offers Real World Learning pathways including internships and an Early College Academy for older students, but those are at other grade levels beyond this school’s PK-6 span.

The school is anchored in the urban fabric of Kansas City. The Crossroads Arts District is one of the city’s more walkable pockets, with art galleries, restaurants, and street life connected by the downtown streetcar line. The broader city is sprawling and car-oriented, but the school’s location places it near downtown civic and cultural amenities. Housing values in the zip code are roughly in line with the state median, and rents have seen a modest recent decline. The national mortgage rate and unemployment rate are at levels typical of the mid-2020s.

No information was available on discipline, staffing ratios, attendance, or chronic absenteeism. Because the school serves only grades PK-6, there is no graduation rate to report. The available data paints a clear picture of a small urban charter elementary and middle school that serves a low-income, diverse population and shows stronger academic results in the primary grades than in the upper elementary and early middle school years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 29% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 22% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 17% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 14%

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

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 28% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 28% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 24% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 15%

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

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 19% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

This schoolCROSSROADS CHARTER SCHOOLS, 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 4Lower-income13%Higher-income81%68 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income33%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income23%Higher-income62%39 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income10%Higher-income69%59 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income13%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income9%Higher-income28%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income39%15 pp gap