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Wendell Phillips Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-6

808^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 900 Missouri Elementary Schools

Better than 10% of Missouri elementary schools

Summary

Wendell Phillips Elementary is a public elementary school in Kansas City, Missouri, serving 307 students in grades PK-6. The school is part of the Kansas City 33 school district, which is ranked 305 out of 367 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Wendell Phillips Elementary faces significant challenges, including consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 36.8% to 55.3% over the past few years, which are significantly higher than the state and district averages. The school also consistently underperforms compared to the state and district averages in MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) test scores across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's 3rd grade math proficiency rate was 13.1%, compared to the state average of 41.4% and the district average of 18.9%. Additionally, the school has a very high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, which is significantly higher than the state and district averages.

Interestingly, the nearby schools, such as Garfield Elementary, Faxon Elementary, and Phillis Wheatley Elementary, also face similar challenges to Wendell Phillips Elementary, with high chronic absenteeism rates, low academic performance, and high percentages of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite the relatively low student-teacher ratio and high per-student spending at Wendell Phillips Elementary, the school's performance has consistently been below state and district averages, suggesting that simply allocating more resources may not be enough to address the underlying challenges facing the school and its students.

324

Students ?

14.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,655

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2400 Prospect
Kansas City, MO 64127-3938

(816) 418-3755

District: Kansas City 33

Students who attend Wendell Phillips Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Northeast Middle School
High:	Northeast High

Racial breakdown:

African American:

68.8%

Hispanic:

18.5%

White:

5.2%

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Compare Wendell Phillips Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 14th percentile in 2015 → 10th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Missouri average (16% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (10th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 30 pts below the Missouri average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school16%

District avg19%

Missouri avg42%

808^th of 900

Missouri public elementary schools ?

Bottom 10%▼ down 4 pts since 2015

From bottom 14% (2015) to bottom 10% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Missouri Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 21Elementary Schools in the Kansas City 33

305^th of 367Kansas City 33 among Missouri districts

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

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	11.2	808 of 900	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.0	813 of 906	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.4	802 of 898	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.1	737 of 908	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.1	817 of 901	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	16.7	917 of 1052	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.9	854 of 1045	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	12.5	942 of 1032	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	33.0	636 of 865	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	19.4	911 of 1058	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	24.2	913 of 1089	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	33.7	838 of 1108	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	26.8	908 of 1085	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	2.6	1072 of 1088	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	9.1	1019 of 1066	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	6.6	1013 of 1053	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	4.4	1066 of 1084	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	7.1	1047 of 1080	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	6.0	1050 of 1074	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	47.3	83 of 190	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	46.1	89 of 191	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.4	67 of 185	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.9	59 of 184	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	57.0	55 of 163	66.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	43.6	139 of 250	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	69.0	49 of 243	79.8%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	24.6	524 of 638	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.9	506 of 625	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.3	484 of 611	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	44.5	270 of 532	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	22.8	483 of 574	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.0	732 of 907	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	38.4	601 of 887	32.2%	★★☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)56th percentile+46 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)18th percentile+8 vs school

By subject vs Missouri (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts20%-23 vs state

Science15%-27 vs state

Mathematics12%-30 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, February 11, 2016

Wendell Phillips is one of the Fully Accredited schools in the KCPS. They have a performance score of 88.3 and 96% attendance score. Wendell Phillips is a great school and the Teachers care about their students. Phillips is note just a school it's a village that is doing some remarkable things with our children. Close Quote

Schools Near Wendell Phillips Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAP Mathematics (2025)						MAP Science (2025)		MAP English Language Arts (2025)						MAP Algebra I (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	MAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAP Science 5th Grade	MAP Science 8th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAP Algebra I End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Wendell Phillips Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	2400 Prospect	Kansas City	64127	Jackson County	Kansas City 33	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 418-3755	324	23	14.3	100.0%	17 (5.2%)	223 (68.8%)	60 (18.5%)	8 (2.5%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	14 (4.3%)	11.2	808^th of 900 public elementary schools	10.2%		12	813^th of 906 public elementary schools	10.3%	5	13.1		8.6	13.6			14.9		18.8	20.1	27.8	11.2				$20,655	$2,914	$17,741
Phillis Wheatley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	2415 Agnes Ave	Kansas City	64127	Jackson County	Kansas City 33	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 418-4825	386	34	11.4	100.0%	17 (4.4%)	150 (38.9%)	194 (50.3%)	4 (1.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	19 (4.9%)	10.5	817^th of 900 public elementary schools	9.2%		11.1	822^nd of 906 public elementary schools	9.3%	5	16.1	18.8	4.8	20.8			11.7		16.2	24.7	12.0	12.4				$22,394	$3,071	$19,323
KIPP Endeavor Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	2700 E 18th St	Kansas City	64127	Jackson County	Kipp: Endeavor Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(816) 241-3994	665	68	9.7	100.0%	5 (0.8%)	536 (80.6%)	85 (12.8%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (5.1%)	4.5	882^nd of 900 public elementary schools	2.0%		3.7	896^th of 906 public elementary schools	1.1%	14	3.6	4.7	2.0	9.2	2.8	3.3	8.0	8.3	5.2	9.3	8.0	14.7	8.2	9.9		$17,064	$1,878	$15,186
Hope Leadership Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	2800 E. Linwood Blvd.	Kansas City	64128	Jackson County	Hope Leadership Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(816) 921-1213	108	13	8.0	100.0%	2 (1.9%)	101 (93.5%)	5 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3.2	896^th of 900 public elementary schools	0.4%					(n/a)		5.4							6.7	5.4						$21,732	$1,145	$20,587
Faxon Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1320 E 32nd Terr	Kansas City	64109	Jackson County	Kansas City 33	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 418-6525	322	28	11.4	100.0%	21 (6.5%)	233 (72.4%)	53 (16.5%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	9 (2.8%)	6.3	864^th of 900 public elementary schools	4.0%		7.3	856^th of 906 public elementary schools	5.5%	8	12.0	11.2	9.6	11.5			3.9		16.4	9.9	14.0	7.3				$21,439	$3,080	$18,359
Whittier Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1012 Bales	Kansas City	64127	Jackson County	Kansas City 33	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 418-3850	550	48	11.4	100.0%	25 (4.5%)	224 (40.7%)	234 (42.5%)	57 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)	5 (0.9%)	3.8	894^th of 900 public elementary schools	0.7%		4.3	891^st of 906 public elementary schools	1.7%	3	5.9	5.6	2.0	5.4			2.0		12.0	6.0	8.0	7.8				$17,535	$2,478	$15,056
Lee A. Tolbert Community Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	3400 Paseo Blvd	Kansas City	64109	Jackson County	Lee A. Tolbert Community Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(816) 561-0114	401	33	12.1	100.0%	2 (0.5%)	376 (93.8%)	7 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (3.5%)	8.2	838^th of 900 public elementary schools	6.9%		5.5	878^th of 906 public elementary schools	3.1%	40	23.0	4.6	10.8	16.8	5.3	14.8	3.7	14.8	11.5	9.2	21.5	12.0	8.0			$14,927	$205	$14,722
Scuola Vita Nuova Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	535 Garfield Ave	Kansas City	64124	Jackson County	Scuola Vita Nuova	Yes	No	No	Yes	(816) 231-5788	363	24	15.1	100.0%	32 (8.8%)	155 (42.7%)	159 (43.8%)	13 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.1%)	23.7	710^th of 900 public elementary schools	21.1%		24.8	696^th of 906 public elementary schools	23.2%	14	25.0	30.0	25.0	35.0	54.0		17.5	31.2	22.5			25.7	29.8		48.3	$17,732	$1,179	$16,553
Academie Lafayette Cherry Elementary	Public, Charter	PK, KG-5	3421 Cherry St	Kansas City	64109	Jackson County	Academie Lafayette	Yes	No	No	Yes	(816) 888-7400	492	33	15.0	33.7%	257 (52.2%)	109 (22.2%)	57 (11.6%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (13.0%)	64.9	314^th of 900 public elementary schools	65.1%		74	205^th of 906 public elementary schools	77.4%	109	41.8	55.0	45.9				49.1		41.8	46.3	61.8					$12,936	$477	$12,460
Garfield Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	436 Prospect Blvd	Kansas City	64124	Jackson County	Kansas City 33	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 418-3605	531	42	12.7	100.0%	33 (6.2%)	236 (44.4%)	159 (29.9%)	75 (14.1%)	2 (0.4%)	8 (1.5%)	18 (3.4%)	7.7	843^rd of 900 public elementary schools	6.3%		7.3	857^th of 906 public elementary schools	5.4%	14	13.7	17.4	11.5	12.1			9.1		11.4	11.4	17.9	9.5				$19,503	$2,478	$17,025

Frequently Asked Questions about Wendell Phillips Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Wendell Phillips Elementary?

Students at Wendell Phillips Elementary are 69% African American, 19% Hispanic, 5% White, 4% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Is Wendell Phillips Elementary a good school?

Wendell Phillips Elementary ranks in the bottom 10.2% of Missouri elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Wendell Phillips Elementary attend?

Students who attend Wendell Phillips Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Northeast Middle School
High : Northeast High

How many students attend Wendell Phillips Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 324 students attended Wendell Phillips Elementary.

What district is Wendell Phillips Elementary in?

Kansas City 33

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary 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.