Slate Creek Elementary

Slate Creek Elementary is an elementary school of close-knit scale in Newton, Kansas, operated by Newton, hosting 236 students in grades K through 4. That puts it 25% smaller than the typical public school in Kansas, which averages around 313 students.

Newton comprises 8 schools with combined enrollment of 2,943 students; Slate Creek Elementary is among them.

In terms of who attends, Slate Creek Elementary logs that 53% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest reads as 36% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 2% Asian. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 84%.

In terms of school funding signals, The school currently runs with 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.2:1 average. An estimated 69% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is north of Harvey County's rate of about 52%.

With demographic context factored in, Slate Creek Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 29.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 38.1%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Harvey County) shows that median household earnings sit near $74,368, roughly 30% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Harvey County runs 18 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,012 students), of which Slate Creek Elementary is one.

Chisholm Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 7 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Slate Creek Elementary ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 26.9%.

The school occupies a town-center site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 27%: 325 students in 2018 compared to 236 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share fell from 42% to 36%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 15.1:1 in 2018 to 11.4:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the feed for Slate Creek Elementary typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.