1
Does Columbus Junior High and High School have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
438
High
DISTRICT 283 · STATE 410
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COLUMBUS·NCES 200507001343
Columbus Junior High and High School
124 S High School Avenue, Columbus, KS 66725 · (620) 429-3821 · Cherokee County
GRADES 07–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL438 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.2:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 11.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
242 students
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 51%
Community
3
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Columbus. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
33.6%
KS avg 44.5% . +9.6pp since 2023
Math
26.3%
KS avg 38.8% . +11.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kansas schools, those numbers are about 45 and 39. Reading and writing scores are up about 10 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 12 points.
Source: KAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
25.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.7%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 26% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% typical for Kansas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Kansas's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
438
+149 (+52%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
11.2:1
was 10.2:1
% White
87%
was 85%
% Hispanic
4%
was 3%
% Black
1%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Columbus Junior High and High School
Columbus Junior High and High School is a 9-12 campus of average-sized scale in Columbus, Kansas, operated by Columbus, caters to 438 students in grades 7 through 12.
Columbus Junior High and High School is one of 4 schools operated by Columbus, a district that hosts 1,130 students overall.
Looking at the student body, Columbus Junior High and High School logs that 87% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest consists of 7% multiracial, 4% Hispanic, 2% Native American. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.
On the resource side, On paper, Columbus Junior High and High School has 39 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 11.2:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 11.9:1 average. An estimated 55% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.
On a demographically-adjusted basis, Columbus Junior High and High School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 35.7%; this one delivers 25.8%.
Across the wider county, Cherokee County reports that 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. Columbus Junior High and High School is one of 17 public schools in Cherokee County (combined enrollment of about 3,647 students).
Highland Elem is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around Columbus Junior High and High School. On composite proficiency, Columbus Junior High and High School comes 5th of 7 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 35.5%.
Geographically, the school is in a rural area.
Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged up 52%: 289 students in 2018 compared to 438 in 2025.
On this page, the feed for Columbus Junior High and High School typically covers pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Cherokee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
19,151
Census ACS
Median income
$57,668
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
17
3,647 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Columbus
- Central ElemElementary · 348 students
- Park ElemElementary · 208 students
- Highland ElemElementary · 136 students
Other schools in Columbus
- Central ElemElementary · 348 students
- Park ElemElementary · 208 students
- Highland ElemElementary · 136 students
Nearby schools
- Highland Elem0.3 mi · 136
- Central Elem0.6 mi · 348
- Park Elem0.9 mi · 208
- Southeast Elementary School10.2 mi · 149
- Riverton Middle10.4 mi · 147
- Riverton High10.4 mi · 218
Frequently asked questions
About Columbus Junior High and High SchoolHow large is Columbus Junior High and High School?
Columbus Junior High and High School enrolls approximately 438 students in grades 07-12.
Is Columbus Junior High and High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Columbus Junior High and High School is a high school covering grades 07-12.
How many teachers does Columbus Junior High and High School have?
Columbus Junior High and High School employs 39 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.2:1.
How diverse is Columbus Junior High and High School?
Columbus Junior High and High School reports a student body of 87% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, 7% Two or more.
Is Columbus Junior High and High School public or private?
Columbus Junior High and High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Columbus.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.