Cottonwood Elementary School

Cottonwood Elementary School, a reasonably sized elementary-level community in Salina, Kansas, one of the schools within Salina, serves 326 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

Within Salina, which oversees 13 schools and 6,441 students, Cottonwood Elementary School is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Cottonwood Elementary School lists that the most-represented group is White (47%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest reads as 30% Hispanic, 19% multiracial, 3% Black. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 82%.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.2:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 85% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is north of Saline County's rate of about 58%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Cottonwood Elementary School is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 21.4%; this one delivers 40.5%, a residual of +19.2 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Saline County) logs that median household income runs about $65,422, roughly 29% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Saline County's 17 public schools (combined enrollment of about 7,580 students), Cottonwood Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Oakdale Elem is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.1 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Cottonwood Elementary School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 31.4%.

Cottonwood Elementary School operates from a town-based location.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 35%: 502 students in 2018 compared to 326 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 60% to 47% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 14.6:1 in 2018 to 10.5:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.