Shawnee Heights Elem

Shawnee Heights Elem, a moderately sized primary school in Topeka, Kansas, one of the schools within Shawnee Heights, serves 429 students, covering grades pre-K through 6. By comparison, Kansas's public schools average about 313 students each, so Shawnee Heights Elem sits 37% bigger than that benchmark.

Across the 6 schools in Shawnee Heights (3,646 students total), Shawnee Heights Elem accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Shawnee Heights Elem lists that 61% of the student body identifies as White; the rest consists of 22% Hispanic, 13% multiracial, 4% Black. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 75%.

On the resource side, On paper, Shawnee Heights Elem has 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.1:1. The state averages about 13.2:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 38% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is south of Shawnee County's rate of about 54%.

After controlling for student poverty, Shawnee Heights Elem performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 44.2%, the actual is 35.6%, a residual of -8.6 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Shawnee County) logs that the typical household earns roughly $67,104 per year, 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Shawnee County's 54 public schools (combined enrollment of about 26,294 students), Shawnee Heights Elem is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Tecumseh South Elem, roughly 1.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Shawnee Heights Elem ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 24.4%.

The school occupies a suburban site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Shawnee Heights Elem has showed little movement, going from 438 students in 2018 to 429 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 66% to 61% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 15.1:1 in 2018 to 13.1:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.