Garfield Elem

Garfield Elem is a primary school of intimate scale in Clay Center, Kansas, run under Clay County, teacheing 170 students in grades 4 through 5. That puts it 46% below the typical public school in Kansas, which averages around 313 students.

Clay County comprises 6 schools with combined enrollment of 1,272 students; Garfield Elem is among them.

On demographics, Garfield Elem shows that the student body is overwhelmingly White (93%). The remainder looks like 4% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Clay County as a whole.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Garfield Elem has 12 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.9:1. The state averages around 13.2:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 46% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Garfield Elem performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 40.2%, the actual is 53.1%, a residual of +12.9 points.

Zooming out to the county, Clay County reports that median household income runs about $66,176, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. Across Clay County's 7 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,272 students), Garfield Elem is one campus in the mix.

Lincoln Elem is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles from this campus. 3 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Garfield Elem comes 2nd of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 36.3%.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Five-year trend. Garfield Elem's enrollment has decreased 9% since 2018, when it stood at 186 (now 170). Class-load math has narrowed: from 15.4:1 in 2018 to 13.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.