The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Science. The lowest is 33% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Ott Elem.
Ott Elementary is a regular public school serving preschool through fifth grade in Independence, Missouri, part of the Independence 30 school district. For families considering this school, the picture that emerges from the available data is one of a school serving a high-poverty community with state assessment results that are modest in absolute terms but compare favorably against other schools in Jackson County.
On the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), proficiency rates across tested grades and subjects fall below the statewide averages that many parents might expect. In third-grade math, roughly a quarter of students met the proficient or advanced bar, with slightly higher rates in fourth and fifth grade. English language arts results follow a similar pattern, with about three in ten students proficient in third grade, rising to around four in ten by fifth grade. Fifth-grade science shows the strongest result, with just under half of students reaching proficiency. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint among the county’s districts, meaning Ott performs better than many of its peer schools in the same regional context. This is a meaningful distinction for a family comparing schools within Jackson County, even if the raw numbers give a parent reason to ask the school about its academic support strategies.
The student body reflects a community with significant economic need: a large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Ethnically, the enrollment is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and a smaller Black student cohort, along with smaller shares of multiracial and other groups. The school is not a magnet or charter and did not have Title I status indicated in the data we have, though the high poverty rate often correlates with additional federal support.
A number of data points that many parents look for were not available. Information on special education and English learner enrollments, chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, and course access were all absent from the record. These are common gaps for elementary schools that do not report certain civil-rights data in a given year, but a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it serves students with disabilities and English learners, and about staff retention and class size.
The Independence 30 district recently made a structural change that will directly affect any family: beginning with the 2023–2024 school year, the district moved to a four-day instructional week while maintaining the same number of educational minutes. Students attend school Monday through Thursday, with selected non-school Mondays used for optional enrichment activities. This is a lasting shift that alters weekly schedules, childcare arrangements, and the rhythm of family life. Anyone considering Ott should factor this into their decision.
Independence itself is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro area and the fifth-largest city in the state. It is a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and historic districts, with a range of housing from older homes near the downtown square to newer subdivisions on the outskirts. The city has a historic courthouse square, the Truman Presidential Library, and other cultural anchors, and it functions largely as a commuter suburb of Kansas City. Housing values in the area are below both the state and national medians, making it more accessible for buyers and renters. The local economy is anchored by the school district, a hospital, and defense contractor Northrop Grumman, among others. The city has seen modest population growth.
Ott Elementary fits a family seeking a neighborhood school in a lower-cost part of the Kansas City area, where the student body is economically diverse and outcomes are in line with or better than those of nearby districts. The four-day week is a major organizational feature to weigh. With limited publicly reported data on student support programs, a parent may want to visit and ask about academic intervention, enrichment, and how the school addresses the needs of its high-poverty population.
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