Hope Elem

As an one-room-style K-5 school in Hope, Kansas, Hope Elem hosts 74 students from grades pre-K through 8, run under Rural Vista. That puts it 76% smaller than the typical public school in Kansas, which averages around 313 students.

Hope Elem is one of 4 schools operated by Rural Vista, a district that educates 297 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Hope Elem logs that the student body is overwhelmingly White (84%). The remainder consists of 9% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, 3% Native American.

In terms of school funding signals, Hope Elem lists 9 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 8.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.2:1, putting Hope Elem tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 54% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Hope Elem sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 36.3%; this one delivers 42.6%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Dickinson County indicate median household income runs about $68,417, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Hope Elem is one of 19 public schools in Dickinson County (combined enrollment of about 3,530 students).

Nearest neighbor: Hope 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. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Hope Elem at 3rd of 7; the average score across the group is 35.7%.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Hope Elem has contracted 24%, going from 97 students in 2018 to 74 in 2025. Class-load math has tightened: from 9.1:1 in 2018 to 8.0:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.