The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Science. The lowest is 17% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Warford Elementary
Warford Elementary is a regular public school in the Hickman Mills C-1 district serving kindergarten through fifth grade. Located in Kansas City, Missouri, it draws from a neighborhood in the southern part of the city. The school’s enrollment reflects a population that is overwhelmingly low-income, with all students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is diverse: the largest group is Black, followed by Hispanic students, White students, and smaller shares of multiracial and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. Class sizes appear typical for an elementary school of this scale.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, Warford’s performance across tested subjects is low. In third-grade math and English language arts, only about a tenth of students scored proficient or above. Fourth-grade rates are slightly higher but still below a fifth of students. Fifth-grade rates are the strongest grade level, though still less than a quarter of students reached proficiency in math and ELA. In fifth-grade science, roughly a fifth of students were proficient. These results place Warford’s overall proficiency below the midpoint when compared with other districts across Jackson County. The school’s multi-year trend data shows a recent uptick from a very low baseline—just a single year of data is available, so it is too early to call a pattern. A parent would want to ask the school directly about supports in place for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.
Warford is part of Hickman Mills C-1, a district that—based on available public information—has not recently undergone major structural or programmatic changes that would affect families. No information about course access, staffing ratios, discipline rates, or extracurricular offerings was provided for this school. Programs such as gifted education, art, music, or after-school supports are not detailed here, so a prospective parent should request that information directly from the school or district office.
The neighborhood around Warford sits within the Kansas City city limits. The broader metro area is a major urban center with a large footprint, car-dependent outside a few walkable cores. Housing in the school’s ZIP code is moderately priced relative to the state and national averages. Home values have risen at a modest pace, and rents are below the national typical, which may be relevant for families considering relocation. The area’s unemployment rate and median household income track national trends closely. The city itself offers extensive parks, cultural institutions, and a developing streetcar line, but the school’s immediate surroundings are not in a dense downtown district.
For a family evaluating Warford, the key facts are clear. This is a high-poverty elementary school where the majority of students are Black or Hispanic and academic proficiency rates are low across all tested subjects. The school is in a very large, car-oriented city with affordable housing relative to national benchmarks. No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or class size was available, so those are open questions. A parent considering Warford would likely want to learn more about how the school addresses foundational literacy and math skills, what enrichment programs exist, and how it engages families in student progress. The elementary grades alone mean no graduation rate or college-readiness metrics apply here; the focus is squarely on early academic foundations.
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