Enrollment
113
Middle
DISTRICT 107 · STATE 402
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COMANCHE COUNTY·NCES 200504000493
South Central Middle School
302 S Jefferson, Protection, KS 67127 · (620) 622-4545 · Comanche County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL113 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% of Kansas public middle schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Kansas public middle schools
Student : Teacher
16.7:1
7 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 12.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
65 students
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 51%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 28 | 25% |
| Grade 6 | 21 | 19% |
| Grade 7 | 30 | 27% |
| Grade 8 | 34 | 30% |
Student demographics
34%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 32% · 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
South Central Middle School→South Central High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Comanche County. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
56.8%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
45.9%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 57 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 | 56.8% | 45.9% |
| 2023-24 | 32.3% | 29.5% |
% 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
38.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.6%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% 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 South Central Middle School
South Central Middle School's state test result (38.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Central Middle School this school | 113 | 57.5% | 38.6% |
| Kingman Middle School Kingman | 89 | 57.3% | 28.5% |
| Oakley Middle School Oakley | 135 | 57.8% | 31.4% |
| Riverside Middle School Wathena | 143 | 58.0% | 27.4% |
| Reno Valley Middle School Hutchinson | 137 | 53.3% | 30.1% |
| Hoisington Middle Hoisington | 158 | 58.2% | 23.9% |
Matched among Kansas middle 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 South Central Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.6% | #63 of 192 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.9% | #49 of 192 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 56.8% | #28 of 192 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 113 | #194 of 225 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.5% | #82 of 195 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
113
+48 (+74%) vs 2020
+135% since 1990-91, when it was 48
Student : Teacher
16.7:1
was 16.3:1
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 | 113 | 6.8 | 16.7:1 | 58% (65) |
| 2023-24 | 98 | 6.5 | 15.1:1 | 55% (54) |
| 2022-23 | 96 | 4.6 | 21.1:1 | 52% (50) |
| 2020-21 | 65 | 4 | 16.3:1 | 42% (27) |
| 2017-18 | 61 | 4.7 | 13.0:1 | 41% (25) |
| 2015-16 | 68 | 5 | 13.6:1 | 41% (28) |
| 2010-11 | 84 | 5 | 16.8:1 | 37% (31) |
| 2000-01 | 81 | 8 | 10.1:1 | 31% (25) |
| 1990-91 | 48 | 6 | 8.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Central Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 85% (61 to 113); teachers up 44% (4.7 to 6.8).
About South Central Middle School
South Central Middle School is a public very small middle-grades school in Protection, Kansas. Its enrollment is 113 students, spread over grades 5 through 8. Middle schools in Kansas average about 402 students, which makes this school 72% below average.
South Central Middle School is one school in Comanche County, a system of 3 schools with 322 students.
The student body at South Central Middle School is 80% White. It is also 13% Hispanic and 7% multiracial. Comanche County's residents are about 95% White, 15 points above the school's share. A diversity index of 34% means there is a 34% chance two randomly chosen students at South Central Middle School are from different groups.
The school had 6.8 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 16.7:1. By comparison, the average for middle schools in Kansas is 12.7:1. The school reported 58% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. That is in line with the 57% average for public schools in Comanche County.
South Central Middle School earns an A- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 80% of Kansas public middle schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 34.6% for South Central Middle School. The school posts 38.6%, 4.0 points above the prediction.
The county, Comanche County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $54,545, about 20% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 6%. The county's public schools total 3, with about 322 students.
South Central Elementary School, less than a tenth of a mile away, is the closest public school. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 36.3%; South Central Middle School's is 38.6%, ranking 3rd of 8.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Rural: Remote: in rural territory far from an urban area.
Enrollment records show 65 in 2020-21 and 113 in 2024-25. Because schools sometimes add or drop grades, the two numbers may not be directly comparable.
This page collects posts and questions about South Central Middle School, such as fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Comanche County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,729
Census ACS
Median income
$54,545
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
3
322 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Comanche County
- South Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 121 students
- South Central High SchoolHigh · 88 students
Other schools in Protection
- South Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 121 students
Other South Central Middle schools
One other US public school is named South Central Middle. South Central Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- South Central Middle SchoolKinmundy, IL · 140 students
Nearby schools
- South Central Elementary School0.0 mi · 121
- South Central High School10.3 mi · 88
- Ashland Elem15.8 mi · 83
- Ashland Junior High School16.2 mi · 37
- Ashland High16.2 mi · 69
- Bucklin Elem25.4 mi · 138
Frequently asked questions
About South Central Middle SchoolHow large is South Central Middle School?
South Central Middle School enrolls approximately 113 students in grades 05-08.
What age range does South Central Middle School serve?
South Central Middle School serves students from grade 05 through grade 08.
How many teachers does South Central Middle School have?
South Central Middle School employs 7 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.7:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Central Middle School?
At South Central Middle School, the student body is approximately 80% White, 13% Hispanic, 7% Two or more.
Is South Central Middle School public or private?
South Central Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Comanche County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.