Enrollment
62
Elementary
DISTRICT 125 · STATE 313
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHAPMAN·NCES 200462001251
Rural Center Elem
902 1400 Avenue, Abilene, KS 67410 · (785) 479-2213 · Dickinson County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL62 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.8:1
6 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.1:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
32%
20 students
DISTRICT 41% · STATE 51%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 13 | 21% |
| Kindergarten | 8 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 10 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 7 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 10 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 9 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 5 | 8% |
Student demographics
21%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 23% · STATE 58% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Chapman. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
50.0%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
45.8%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 46 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kansas schools, those numbers are about 45 and 39.
KAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 50.0% | 45.8% |
| 2023-24 | 35.0% | 20.0% |
% Meeting + Exceeding, all students and all tested grades. Kansas set new KAP cut scores in spring 2025, so results from 2023-24 and earlier are not comparable with later years.
Source: KAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
37.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.8%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% typical for Kansas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Kansas's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Rural Center Elem
Rural Center Elem's state test result (37.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural Center Elem this school | 62 | 32.3% | 37.7% |
| Blue Ridge Elem Abilene | 71 | 29.6% | 54.9% |
| Little Learners at Yoder Yoder | 64 | 28.1% | N/A |
| Brewster Elem Brewster | 90 | 27.8% | 26.7% |
| Clifton-Clyde Grade School K-3 Clifton | 90 | 38.9% | 57.9% |
| Weskan Elem Weskan | 64 | 20.3% | 48.8% |
Matched among Kansas elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Rural Center Elem ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas | In Dickinson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 62 | #693 of 714 | #10 of 10 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
62
+12 (+24%) vs 2020
-35% since 1990-91, when it was 96
Student : Teacher
10.8:1
was 10.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62 | 5.7 | 10.8:1 | 32% (20) |
| 2023-24 | 66 | 6.2 | 10.7:1 | 33% (22) |
| 2022-23 | 55 | 5.7 | 9.7:1 | 29% (16) |
| 2020-21 | 50 | 5 | 10.0:1 | 40% (20) |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 5.5 | 10.2:1 | 27% (15) |
| 2015-16 | 48 | 5 | 9.6:1 | 52% (25) |
| 2010-11 | 37 | 3 | 12.3:1 | 59% (22) |
| 2000-01 | 58 | 5 | 11.6:1 | 41% (24) |
| 1990-91 | 96 | 6 | 16.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Rural Center Elem.
Since 2017-18: students up 11% (56 to 62); teachers up 4% (5.5 to 5.7).
About Rural Center Elem
Rural Center Elem is a very small elementary school based in Abilene, Kansas. Its enrollment is 62 students, spread over pre-K through 5. Across elementary schools in Kansas, the average enrollment is about 313.
Besides Rural Center Elem, Chapman runs 5 other schools. The district enrolls 1,134 students.
White students account for 89% of the school's enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 5% Black and 3% multiracial. Among Dickinson County residents, the White share is about 91%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 21%.
Rural Center Elem lists 5.7 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 10.8 students per teacher. The school's 10.8:1 compares with an average of 13.2:1 for elementary schools in Kansas. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 32% of the student body. That is 17 points below the 49% average for public schools in Dickinson County.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Rural Center Elem is 9.1 points below its prediction. Actual: 37.7%. Predicted: 46.8%.
In Dickinson County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $68,417, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and about 5% of people live in poverty. There are 19 public schools in the county, enrolling about 3,530, Rural Center Elem among them.
McKinley Elem is about 8.1 miles from Rural Center Elem, the shortest distance to any other public school. Counting only straight-line distance, 7 other public schools are within ten miles. Rural Center Elem places 3rd of 7 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
NCES lists the school's locale as Rural: Distant. That means it sits in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Over 4 years, enrollment increased by 12 students, from 50 to 62.
On allk12, people connected to Rural Center Elem can post about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Dickinson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
18,445
Census ACS
Median income
$68,417
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
3,530 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chapman
- Chapman HighHigh · 383 students
- Chapman ElemElementary · 282 students
- Chapman Middle SchoolMiddle · 250 students
- Enterprise ElemElementary · 86 students
- Blue Ridge ElemElementary · 71 students
Other schools in Abilene
- Abilene High SchoolHigh · 443 students
- Abilene Middle SchoolMiddle · 319 students
- Kennedy ElemElementary · 276 students
- Dwight D. Eisenhower ElementaryElementary · 218 students
- McKinley ElemElementary · 196 students
- Blue Ridge ElemElementary · 71 students
Nearby schools
- McKinley Elem8.1 mi · 196
- Abilene Virtual School8.8 mi · 24
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary8.8 mi · 218
- Abilene Middle School9.0 mi · 319
- Abilene High School9.0 mi · 443
- Enterprise Elem9.1 mi · 86
Frequently asked questions
About Rural Center ElemHow many students attend Rural Center Elem?
Rural Center Elem enrolls approximately 62 students in grades PK-05.
Is Rural Center Elem an elementary, middle, or high school?
Rural Center Elem is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Rural Center Elem have?
Rural Center Elem employs 6 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 10.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Rural Center Elem?
At Rural Center Elem, the student body is approximately 89% White, 2% Hispanic, 5% Black, 3% Two or more.
Is Rural Center Elem public or private?
Rural Center Elem is a public K-12 school, overseen by Chapman.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.