Christa McAuliffe Academy

Christa McAuliffe Academy is a sizable elementary school in Wichita, Kansas, part of Wichita. The school serves 829 students in grades pre-K through 8. Compared to the state average of about 313 students per school, that is 165% larger than typical.

Wichita comprises 87 schools with combined enrollment of 47,545 students; Christa McAuliffe Academy is among them.

Looking at the student body, Christa McAuliffe Academy records that the most-represented group is White (33%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school reports 24% Asian, 20% Hispanic, 12% Black, 10% multiracial. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 69%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Christa McAuliffe Academy has 61 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.7:1. The state averages about 13.2:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 52% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Sedgwick County runs at roughly 63%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Christa McAuliffe Academy performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 37.1%, the actual is 29.9%, a residual of -7.2 points.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Sedgwick County shows the typical household earns roughly $69,365 per year, roughly 32% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Christa McAuliffe Academy is one of 160 public schools in Sedgwick County (combined enrollment of about 84,569 students).

The closest other public school is Southeast High, roughly 1.3 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Christa McAuliffe Academy at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 39.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count showed little movement: 836 students in 2018 compared to 829 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment increased from 12% to 20% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 15.4:1 in 2018 to 13.7:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.