Central Elem

Central Elem is one of the medium-sized elementary-level communitys in Columbus, Kansas, run under Columbus, with 348 students on its rolls from grades 2 through 6.

Within Columbus, which oversees 4 schools and 1,130 students, Central Elem is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Central Elem lists that 84% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest consists of 8% multiracial, 5% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the income-and-resources front, The school reports having 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.0:1. The state averages about 13.2:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 64% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Central Elem sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 31.4%; this one delivers 38.2%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Cherokee County put the typical household earns roughly $57,668 per year, roughly 19% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Cherokee County's 17 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,647 students), Central Elem is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Columbus Junior High and High School, around 0.6 miles off. 3 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Central Elem at 3rd of 6; the average score across the group is 31.4%.

Central Elem operates from a rural location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count stayed largely flat: 348 students in 2018 compared to 348 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 89% to 84% over that span. Class-load math has widened: from 11.1:1 in 2018 to 13.0:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.