Buffalo Jones Elem

As a modestly sized elementary-level community in Garden City, Kansas, Buffalo Jones Elem enrolls 221 students from grades K through 4, one of the schools within Garden City. Enrollment runs roughly 29% leaner than the state mean of about 313.

Buffalo Jones Elem is one of 18 schools operated by Garden City, a district that works with 7,032 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Buffalo Jones Elem shows that 87% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. The remainder is composed of 6% White, 3% Black, 2% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 53% Hispanic, putting the school's mix noticeably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Buffalo Jones Elem has 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.1:1. The state averages about 13.2:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 89% of students at Buffalo Jones Elem qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Finney County runs at roughly 73%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Buffalo Jones Elem tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 19.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 29.4%.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Finney County indicate median household income runs about $73,009, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. Across Finney County's 23 public schools (combined enrollment of about 7,939 students), Buffalo Jones Elem is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Abe Hubert Elementary School, around 0.6 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Buffalo Jones Elem comes 2nd of 8 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 23.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 24%: 292 students in 2018 compared to 221 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.