The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sunrise Elem.
Sunrise Elementary is the only school in the Sunrise R-IX district, serving students from preschool through eighth grade in a rural setting south of De Soto. The school sits on Sunrise School Road, outside the town’s compact core, and families drive in from the surrounding area. This is a small school with an enrollment that mirrors the demographic makeup of its community: the student body is overwhelmingly white, with small shares of Black, multiracial, and Hispanic students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
De Soto itself is a small city with a working-class and railroad heritage, anchored by a Union Pacific car repair shop, Walmart, and the De Soto School District. It has a traditional Main Street, a public library, parks, and a historic theater. The town is growing very slowly, and the most notable development news is a planned Amtrak stop on the Texas Eagle line that would restore passenger rail after many years. The housing market is more affordable than the national median, which matters for families considering a move into the area.
Academically, the picture is mixed and best understood grade by grade. On the Missouri Assessment Program, reading proficiency in third grade was a strong point, with a solid share of students meeting or exceeding the standard. By fifth grade, reading proficiency was lower, and the data for fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade reading was suppressed, meaning the school’s reporting authority did not release it, often because the tested group was too small for a reliable public result. In math, the school saw a wide range across grades. Fifth graders had the strongest showing, while fourth and eighth graders posted weaker results, with a minority of students at the proficient level. The seventh-grade math and both the fifth- and eighth-grade science results were also suppressed. A parent looking for a full academic picture will want to discuss the suppressed scores directly with the school, as the reason may be small class sizes rather than any avoidance.
The school serves grades PK through 8, so there is no high school graduation rate to report, and no advanced placement or dual-credit offerings because those programs are for older students. When compared with other districts in Jefferson County on an overall proficiency index, Sunrise R-IX sits below the midpoint among the county’s twelve districts. That is a useful reference point, but it is also fair to note that this is the smallest district in the comparison set, and a small grade band and small class sizes mean a single cohort’s performance can move the overall number substantially from year to year.
Sunrise Elementary is a straightforward, small rural school where a family will know the teachers and the staff. The peer environment is homogeneous, and the academic results vary enough by grade and subject that a parent should look closely at whether their child’s particular grade level shows strength or a soft spot. The district itself appears stable, with no major recent changes publicly reported. For a family seeking a small-school setting in a slow-growing, affordable part of Jefferson County, this is a school that warrants an in-person visit and a direct conversation with the principal about what the suppressed test scores mean for their child’s grade.
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