Banneker Elem

Banneker Elem operates as a mid-sized K-5 school in Kansas City, Kansas, run under Kansas City. Current enrollment sits at 268 students spanning grades K through 5.

Banneker Elem is one of 43 schools operated by Kansas City, a district that enrolls 21,538 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Banneker Elem reports that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 64% of enrollment. Other groups include 27% Black, 4% multiracial, 4% White. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 34%.

In terms of school funding signals, Banneker Elem shows 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.2:1. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 88% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Wyandotte County (around 75%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Banneker Elem sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 19.8%; this one delivers 19.2%.

Across the wider county, census data for Wyandotte County shows median household earnings sit near $63,631, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 12%. In all, Wyandotte County runs 62 public schools (combined enrollment of about 30,713 students), of which Banneker Elem is one.

Grant Elem is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Banneker Elem. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Banneker Elem at 3rd of 6; the average score across the group is 21.7%.

Banneker Elem operates from a city-core location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Banneker Elem has shrank 32%, going from 396 students in 2018 to 268 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment expanded from 31% to 64% over that span.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Banneker Elem community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.