Arkansas City High

Set in Arkansas City, Kansas, Arkansas City High is a sizable four-year high school, run under Arkansas City. It enrolls 885 students across grades 9 through 12. By comparison, Kansas's public schools average about 410 students each, so Arkansas City High sits 116% above that benchmark.

Arkansas City High is one of 8 schools operated by Arkansas City, a district that educates 2,902 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Arkansas City High logs that 53% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school records 36% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 3% Black, 2% Pacific Islander. The wider county runs roughly 80% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

On the resource side, On paper, Arkansas City High has 63 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 11.9:1 average. Roughly 51% of students at Arkansas City High qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

With demographic context factored in, Arkansas City High falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 37.8%; this one comes in at 14.6%, -23.2 points off the demographic line.

Around the school, Cowley County reports that median household earnings sit near $57,878, roughly 25% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 12%. Arkansas City High is one of 22 public schools in Cowley County (combined enrollment of about 5,714 students).

Nearest neighbor: Adams Elem, around 0.8 miles off. 5 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Arkansas City High ranks 9th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 30.0%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count grew 15%: 767 students in 2018 compared to 885 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share ticked up from 24% to 36%.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.