Ness City Elem

As a modestly sized primary school in Ness City, Kansas, Ness City Elem hosts 155 students from grades pre-K through 6, run under Ness City. Enrollment runs roughly 50% smaller than the state mean of about 313.

Ness City comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 277 students; Ness City Elem is among them.

In terms of who attends, Ness City Elem lists that 84% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest consists of 15% Hispanic. Compared to Ness County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 12 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.4:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 13.2:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 41% of enrolled students meet the income threshold 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), Ness City Elem performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 42.7%, the actual is 44.4%, a residual of +1.6 points.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Ness County put the typical household earns roughly $68,616 per year, about 25% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Ness City Elem is one of 5 public schools in Ness County (combined enrollment of about 404 students).

Nearest neighbor: Ness City High, around 0.1 miles off. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Ness City Elem ranks 4th on composite proficiency, above the local average of 39.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a countryside area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Ness City Elem's enrollment has rose 3% since 2018, when it stood at 150 (now 155). White enrollment moved from 74% to 84% across the same window. Class-load math has widened: from 9.7:1 in 2018 to 13.4:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.