Summary
Tanglewood Elementary is a public elementary school located in Derby, Kansas, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 596 students. The school is part of the Derby school district, which is ranked 153 out of 264 districts in Kansas and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.
Tanglewood Elementary has consistently maintained a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger over the past several years, outperforming the Derby district and the state of Kansas in proficiency rates across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, Tanglewood's proficiency rates were 60.54% in English Language Arts, 47.77% in Math, and 48.48% in Science, compared to the Derby district's 44.84%, 38.25%, and 44%, respectively, and the state's 44.47%, 38.73%, and 41.44%. Tanglewood's 3rd-grade proficiency rates are particularly strong, with 74.5% in ELA and 58.82% in Math, significantly higher than the district and state averages.
While Tanglewood Elementary excels in serving specific student subgroups, particularly Hispanic students and students with special needs, the school's increasing chronic absenteeism, rising from 9.3% in the 2022-2023 school year to 19.5% in the 2024-2025 school year, is an area of concern. To address this challenge and build on Tanglewood's strengths, the school and district should investigate the root causes of the absenteeism and explore opportunities to increase per-student spending and reduce the student-teacher ratio, which are lower than some of the higher-performing neighboring schools, such as Park Hill Elementary and Stone Creek Elementary.
Thank you for your feedback!