Riverside Elementary

Riverside Elementary is one of the middle-of-the-pack primary schools in Emporia, Kansas, one of the schools within Emporia, with 385 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 23% bigger than the typical public school in Kansas, which averages around 313 students.

Emporia comprises 8 schools with combined enrollment of 4,261 students; Riverside Elementary is among them.

Looking at the student body, Riverside Elementary lists that Hispanic students make up the majority at 68%. The remainder is composed of 24% White, 5% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 24% Hispanic, putting the school's mix noticeably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Riverside Elementary records 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.7:1. The state averages around 13.2:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 82% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above Lyon County's rate of about 59%.

After controlling for student poverty, Riverside Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 22.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 25.9%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Lyon County indicate the typical household earns roughly $59,912 per year, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Lyon County runs 14 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,122 students), of which Riverside Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Walnut Elem, roughly 1.0 miles away. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Riverside Elementary at 5th of 9; the average score across the group is 33.3%.

Riverside Elementary operates from a small-town location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Riverside Elementary has fell 16%, going from 456 students in 2018 to 385 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 54% to 68% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Riverside Elementary typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.