Summary:
The city of Garden City, Kansas is home to 18 schools that serve students from elementary through high school, all part of the Garden City School District. While the district as a whole is ranked 223 out of 264 districts in the state and has an overall rating of 1 out of 5 stars, a few standout schools are performing significantly better than the rest.
Jennie Wilson Elementary ranks 124 out of 653 elementary schools in the state and has a 4 out of 5 star rating, with much higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math compared to the district and state averages. Plymell Elementary and Jennie Barker Elementary also have higher proficiency rates than the district, particularly in English Language Arts. However, the majority of schools in the district are struggling, with low test scores, high poverty rates, and low rankings compared to the state.
Across the district, there are significant disparities, with a 19.5% chronic absenteeism rate and wide variations in student-teacher ratios, from 5.9 students per teacher to 49.1 students per teacher. The high rates of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 32% to 92%, correlate with the lower academic outcomes, highlighting the impact of socioeconomic factors on student achievement. To address these challenges, the Garden City School District may need to implement more targeted, data-driven interventions and support at the struggling schools, while also learning from the successful practices at the higher-performing elementary schools.
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