Chetopa Elem

Chetopa Elem is a very small elementary campus in Chetopa, Kansas, run under Chetopa-St. Paul. The school works with 61 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 313 students per school, that is 81% leaner than typical.

Chetopa-St. Paul runs 5 schools in total, collectively educating 396 students. Chetopa Elem is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Chetopa Elem shows that nearly all students (80%) are White. Beyond that, the school records 10% Native American, 5% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. Compared to Labette County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Chetopa Elem has 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 8.1:1. The state averages around 13.2:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 89% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is above Labette County's rate of about 65%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Chetopa 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 22.5%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Labette County indicate median household earnings sit near $56,325, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. In all, Labette County runs 18 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,468 students), of which Chetopa Elem is one.

Nearest neighbor: Chetopa High, around 0.0 miles off. 4 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. On composite proficiency, Chetopa Elem comes 5th of 6 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 30.9%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Chetopa Elem has declined 23%, going from 79 students in 2018 to 61 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 86% to 80%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 9.4:1 in 2018 to 8.1:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.