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Gordon Parks Academy

Q: Is Gordon Parks Academy a good school?

Gordon Parks Academy ranks in the bottom 9.3% of Kansas elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Gordon Parks Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 485 students attended Gordon Parks Academy.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Gordon Parks Academy?

Students at Gordon Parks Academy are 43% African American, 26% Hispanic, 16% White, 13% Two or more races.

Q: What schools do graduates of Gordon Parks Academy attend?

Students who attend Gordon Parks Academy usually go on to attend: Middle : Wells Alternative Middle School High : Chisholm Life Skills Center High : Sowers Alternative High School High : Wichita Alternative High

Public, Magnet Grades PK, KG-8

595^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 656 Kansas Elementary Schools

Better than 9% of Kansas elementary schools

Summary

Gordon Parks Academy is a public magnet elementary school in Wichita, Kansas that serves grades PK-8, with an enrollment of 452 students. The school faces significant challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 10-15% of elementary schools in the state on academic performance measures.

Gordon Parks Academy's students perform well below the Wichita district and state averages on state assessments, with only 28.14% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and just 16.93% proficient in Mathematics. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as Special Education and Low Socioeconomic Status students. Additionally, Gordon Parks Academy has very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 19.5% to 32.7% in recent years, which likely contributes to the poor academic outcomes.

While Gordon Parks Academy spends more per student than many of the nearby schools, such as Spaght Multimedia Magnet and Irving Elementary, it is not achieving the same level of academic success as these higher-performing schools. This suggests that factors beyond just funding, such as school programming, teaching quality, and addressing the root causes of chronic absenteeism, may be important levers for improving outcomes at Gordon Parks Academy.

485

Students ?

13.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,603

Per pupil spending ?

90.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2201 E. 25th St.
Wichita, KS 67219

(316) 973-7500

District: Wichita

Students who attend Gordon Parks Academy usually attend:

Middle:	Wells Alternative Middle School
High:	Chisholm Life Skills Center
	Sowers Alternative High School
	Wichita Alternative High

Racial breakdown:

African American:

42.9%

Hispanic:

26.2%

White:

15.9%

See top rated Kansas elementary schools

Compare Gordon Parks Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 1st percentile in 2015 → 9th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 8 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Kansas average (23% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (33% vs 20% Kansas)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school23%

District avg24%

Kansas avg42%

Elementary school

595^th of 656

Kansas public elementary schools ?

Bottom 9%▲ up 8 pts since 2015

From bottom 1% (2015) to bottom 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Kansas Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

310^th of 363

Kansas public middle schools ?

Bottom 15%▲ up 13 pts since 2015

From bottom 2% (2015) to bottom 15% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Kansas Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

26^th of 54Elementary Schools in the Wichita

245^th of 264Wichita among Kansas districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	12.3	595 of 656	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.3	607 of 653	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.9	588 of 660	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.7	606 of 668	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	7.5	637 of 670	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.3	657 of 667	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.1	631 of 656	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	4.9	648 of 659	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	4.1	648 of 656	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	4.0	670 of 678	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	2.8	655 of 668	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	8.2	628 of 660	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	2.1	625 of 631	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	1.6	623 of 630	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	2.0	611 of 621	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	31.7	51 of 70	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.3	57 of 72	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	42.4	37 of 74	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	42.5	31 of 68	54.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	42.0	34 of 73	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	22.8	61 of 73	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.9	54 of 65	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2021	11.2	210 of 214	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2021	12.8	540 of 591	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.2	582 of 591	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.1	564 of 574	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	31.2	197 of 262	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.5	188 of 260	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	20.8	474 of 533	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.1	492 of 546	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.7	452 of 541	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.8	430 of 512	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.2	448 of 494	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.1	497 of 509	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.1	472 of 512	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2021	7.0	591 of 605	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.5	562 of 586	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.8	515 of 575	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	11.1	305 of 313	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.6	299 of 306	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.2	210 of 214	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	20.4	310 of 363	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.2	340 of 362	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	341 of 362	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.5	310 of 368	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	7.7	354 of 367	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.6	354 of 368	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.3	320 of 350	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	5.9	355 of 358	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	6.6	337 of 343	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	6.0	362 of 368	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	8.5	335 of 355	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	6.8	324 of 342	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	6.9	297 of 320	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	2.7	305 of 316	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	5.0	293 of 307	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	36.5	43 of 68	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.5	58 of 73	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	39.5	43 of 73	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.7	42 of 72	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.4	55 of 65	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.3	62 of 69	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.2	45 of 57	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2021	6.9	309 of 313	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.3	292 of 294	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.0	264 of 275	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	59.4	39 of 135	71.1%	★★★★☆
2024	29.6	111 of 144	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.1	77 of 140	45.0%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	28.3	222 of 285	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.5	278 of 296	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	24.3	264 of 300	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.7	181 of 270	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	14.1	263 of 275	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.7	262 of 270	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	27.1	215 of 255	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2021	12.5	286 of 308	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.3	250 of 301	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.5	213 of 280	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2024	16.0	164 of 164	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.2	174 of 178	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	33.8	116 of 171	32.2%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kansas percentile	Rating
2025	36.7	220 of 349	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.7	271 of 347	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.9	301 of 349	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Elementary school

African American (2025)27th percentile+18 vs school

Hispanic (2025)25th percentile+16 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)11th percentile~ school

Female (2021)9th percentile+4 vs school

Special Education (2025)3rd percentile-7 vs school

Male (2021)2nd percentile-3 vs school

Disabled (2021)2nd percentile-3 vs school

Middle school

Hispanic (2025)71st percentile+57 vs school

White (2025)37th percentile+22 vs school

African American (2025)37th percentile+22 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile+8 vs school

Male (2021)7th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2021)1st percentile~ school

Special Education (2024)<1st percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs Kansas (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts28%-16 vs state

Science24%-17 vs state

Mathematics17%-22 vs state

4.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

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What people are saying

by a parent
Sunday, August 25, 2019

The school itself and teachers are amazing. There are some really mean students there that do target and bully others. The teachers try to do the best that they can, but I actually blame the parents that raise those kids. The teachers are working hard to put Gordon Parks on the map as an amazing and innovative school. They offer the kids opportunities they would not get in other schools. The school pushes programs like second step and avid to help students mature and develop good study skills to take on to high school. I have been very happy with the school and culture. I just wish parents would work harder to raise children who support each other instead of being so mean. Close Quote

by a teacher
Sunday, February 17, 2019

Gordon Parks Academy has changed it focus to become a Media Art STEM school where students focus on Photography, Film and Audio production. We also have robotics where our all of our team qualified for state and three of them for nationals (We only have four teams). Currently we have a waiting list for students to enroll in our middle school and we are a feeder school to Northeast High Magnet School. We've also partnered with Wichita State University where we work with Shocker studios to help our students who would like to earn a degree in any of the media arts field. The school may have has a bad reputation is the past but this has change for the better. Close Quote

Schools Near Gordon Parks Academy

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				KAP English Language Arts (2025)							KAP Mathematics (2025)							KAP Science (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	KAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	KAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	KAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	KAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	KAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	KAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	KAP English Language Arts All Grades	KAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	KAP Mathematics 4th Grade	KAP Mathematics 5th Grade	KAP Mathematics 6th Grade	KAP Mathematics 7th Grade	KAP Mathematics 8th Grade	KAP Mathematics All Grades	KAP Science 5th Grade	KAP Science 8th Grade	KAP Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Gordon Parks Academy	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-8	2201 E. 25th St.	Wichita	67219	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	Yes	No	Yes	(316) 973-7500	485	37	13.2	90.7%	77 (15.9%)	208 (42.9%)	127 (26.2%)	4 (0.8%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (13.4%)	12.3	595^th of 656 public elementary schools	9.3%		10.3	607^th of 653 public elementary schools	7.0%	12	31.1	28.6	25.4	34.0	15.2	33.3	28.1	22.2	14.3	18.6	17.0	13.0	16.1	16.9	11.9	37.5	24.3	$16,603	$3,176	$13,427
Mueller Aerospace/Engineering Discovery Magne	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	2500 E 18th	Wichita	67214	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	Yes	No	Yes	(316) 973-8300	304	25	12.3	93.8%	31 (10.2%)	177 (58.2%)	63 (20.7%)	7 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	25 (8.2%)	4.2	651^st of 656 public elementary schools	0.8%		7	635^th of 653 public elementary schools	2.8%	16	25.0	10.3	18.4				18.2	13.6	2.6	7.9				8.3	10.5		10.5	$19,129	$3,330	$15,799
Buckner Performing Arts Magnet Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	3530 E 27th N	Wichita	67220	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	Yes	No	Yes	(316) 973-9350	313	24	12.9	90.7%	54 (17.3%)	172 (55.0%)	49 (15.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (10.9%)	8	621^st of 656 public elementary schools	5.3%		8	624^th of 653 public elementary schools	4.4%	3	33.3	31.2	21.4				28.9	11.1	14.3	2.4				9.6	7.1		7.1	$15,871	$3,261	$12,610
L'Ouverture Computer Technology Magnet	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	1539 N Ohio	Wichita	67214	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	Yes	No	Yes	(316) 973-5050	232	20	11.8	95.3%	18 (7.8%)	98 (42.2%)	92 (39.7%)	1 (0.4%)	3 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (8.6%)	10.6	606^th of 656 public elementary schools	7.6%		7.5	630^th of 653 public elementary schools	3.5%	24	23.8	17.8	31.6				24.0	7.1	2.3	21.1				9.7	34.2		34.2	$17,608	$3,314	$14,293
Spaght Multimedia Magnet	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	2316 E 10th	Wichita	67214	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	Yes	No	Yes	(316) 973-7300	480	33	14.4	95.8%	32 (6.7%)	190 (39.6%)	210 (43.8%)	6 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (8.5%)	5	644^th of 656 public elementary schools	1.8%		5.5	647^th of 653 public elementary schools	0.9%	3	17.5	13.1	28.6				19.6	3.6	7.7	8.6				6.4	16.2		16.2	$17,307	$2,962	$14,345
Irving Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1642 N Market	Wichita	67214	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	No	No	Yes	(316) 973-0050	447	29	15.4	95.5%	27 (6.0%)	15 (3.4%)	392 (87.7%)	5 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.6%)	8.2	620^th of 656 public elementary schools	5.5%		7.9	625^th of 653 public elementary schools	4.3%	5	29.8	25.8	18.9				24.4	21.4	12.5	8.3				13.5	16.7		16.7	$16,600	$3,039	$13,561
Cloud Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1212 W 25th St No	Wichita	67204	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	No	No	Yes	(316) 973-9200	580	40	14.4	94.0%	39 (6.7%)	21 (3.6%)	504 (86.9%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.1%)	4.1	652^nd of 656 public elementary schools	0.6%		7.6	629^th of 653 public elementary schools	3.7%	23	11.4	18.3	22.3				17.3	3.9	4.0	10.0				5.8	14.3		14.3	$17,282	$2,894	$14,388
Ortiz Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3361 N Arkansas Ave	Wichita	67204	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	No	No	Yes	(316) 973-9785	323	23	13.8	92.9%	32 (9.9%)	8 (2.5%)	278 (86.1%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	7.9	624^th of 656 public elementary schools	4.9%		8.8	620^th of 653 public elementary schools	5.1%	4	36.7	22.4	16.2				25.9	14.0	4.1	2.7				7.3	24.3		24.3	$17,151	$3,231	$13,920
Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-8	1243 N Market	Wichita	67214	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	Yes	No	Yes	(316) 973-3100	643	40	16.0	84.9%	38 (5.9%)	16 (2.5%)	581 (90.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.1%)	26.4	504^th of 656 public elementary schools	23.2%		21	540^th of 653 public elementary schools	17.3%	36	40.0	37.3	39.7	33.3	37.3	35.6	37.2	18.8	29.0	42.8	29.2	19.7	27.1	27.6	26.6	37.3	31.7	$13,675	$3,013	$10,662
Jackson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2717 N Woodlawn	Wichita	67220	Sedgwick County	Wichita	No	No	No	Yes	(316) 973-1200	337	24	13.8	79.8%	73 (21.7%)	137 (40.7%)	71 (21.1%)	8 (2.4%)	3 (0.9%)	2 (0.6%)	43 (12.8%)	10.1	611^th of 656 public elementary schools	6.9%		6.8	637^th of 653 public elementary schools	2.5%	26	25.0	29.7	35.0				29.7	13.6	8.1	10.0				10.7	22.5		22.5	$21,810	$3,373	$18,437

Frequently Asked Questions about Gordon Parks Academy

Is Gordon Parks Academy a good school?

Gordon Parks Academy ranks in the bottom 9.3% of Kansas elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Gordon Parks Academy?

Students at Gordon Parks Academy are 43% African American, 26% Hispanic, 16% White, 13% Two or more races.

What district is Gordon Parks Academy in?

Wichita

What schools do graduates of Gordon Parks Academy attend?

Students who attend Gordon Parks Academy usually go on to attend:

Middle : Wells Alternative Middle School
High : Chisholm Life Skills Center
High : Sowers Alternative High School
High : Wichita Alternative High

How many students attend Gordon Parks Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 485 students attended Gordon Parks Academy.

Rate Gordon Parks Academy!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kansas State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.