1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Starside Elem?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
428
Elementary
DISTRICT 424 · STATE 313
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DE SOTO·NCES 200549001462
Starside Elem
35400 W 91St, De Soto, KS 66018 · (913) 667-6270 · Johnson County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL428 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
52%
223 students
DISTRICT 19% · STATE 51%
Community
5
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 67 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 64 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 68 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 85 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 71 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (67) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (71).
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 38% · 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
Test scores
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
48.8%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
43.4%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 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 | 48.8% | 43.4% |
| 2023-24 | 34.1% | 32.9% |
% 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
39.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
37.3%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 Starside Elem
Starside Elem's state test result (39.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starside Elem this school | 428 | 52.1% | 39.3% |
| Coronado Elem Salina | 389 | 49.4% | 38.6% |
| Grand Star Elementary Gardner | 380 | 56.3% | 43.2% |
| Timmerman Elementary Emporia | 370 | 45.4% | 48.2% |
| Cimarron Elem Cimarron | 312 | 46.5% | 39.3% |
| Tecumseh North Elem Tecumseh | 435 | 54.5% | 41.2% |
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 Starside Elem ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas | In Johnson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.3% | #374 of 625 | #94 of 111 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 43.4% | #298 of 625 | #90 of 111 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 48.8% | #330 of 625 | #89 of 111 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 428 | #149 of 714 | #42 of 112 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.0:1 | #39 of 539 | #8 of 108 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.5% | #207 of 540 | #47 of 108 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 52.1% | #351 of 658 | #23 of 111 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.8% | #230 of 377 | #47 of 76 |
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
428
+7 (+2%) vs 2020
-12% since 2000-01, when it was 486
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
was 11.1:1
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 | 428 | 39 | 11.0:1 | 52% (223) |
| 2023-24 | 439 | 39.3 | 11.2:1 | 49% (216) |
| 2022-23 | 445 | 36.3 | 12.3:1 | 47% (211) |
| 2020-21 | 421 | 38 | 11.1:1 | 43% (180) |
| 2017-18 | 480 | 38 | 12.6:1 | 46% (220) |
| 2015-16 | 411 | 40 | 10.3:1 | 49% (203) |
| 2010-11 | 451 | 37 | 12.2:1 | 57% (255) |
| 2000-01 | 486 | 40 | 12.2:1 | 27% (132) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Starside Elem.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (480 to 428); teachers up 3% (38 to 39).
About Starside Elem
Starside Elem is a medium-sized elementary school in De Soto, Kansas, administered by De Soto. Enrollment is 428 students in 2024-25, and the school serves pre-K through 5. Against the 313-student average for elementary schools in Kansas, enrollment here is 37% higher.
A total of 13 schools make up De Soto, with 7,067 students enrolled.
White students account for 56% of enrollment at Starside Elem. Other students are 38% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. That is lower than the 79% White share among all Johnson County residents. By the diversity index, Starside Elem comes in at 54%.
The school has about 11.0 students per teacher and 39 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among elementary schools in Kansas is 13.2:1, higher than at this school. About 52% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 27% average among public schools in Johnson County.
Starside Elem's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (39.3%) and its predicted rate (37.3%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Kansas schools.
According to the American Community Survey, in Johnson County, median household income is about $109,208, 58% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 3% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 168 public schools operate in Johnson County, serving about 93,598 students.
The closest public school, Virtual Education Program, is less than a tenth of a mile from Starside Elem. Within five miles are 3 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 48.1%; Starside Elem's is 39.3%, ranking 6th of 7.
Starside Elem falls in the Rural: Fringe locale category, used for schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 421 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 428.
Community posts for Starside Elem can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Johnson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
620,631
Census ACS
Median income
$109,208
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
58%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
3%
Below federal line
Schools in county
168
93,598 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in De Soto
- Mill Valley High SchoolHigh · 1,432 students
- De Soto High SchoolHigh · 918 students
- Mill Creek Middle SchoolMiddle · 676 students
- Monticello Trails Middle SchoolMiddle · 655 students
- Mize Elementary SchoolElementary · 474 students
- Clear Creek ElemElementary · 461 students
Other schools in De Soto
- De Soto High SchoolHigh · 918 students
- Lexington Trails Middle SchoolMiddle · 393 students
- Virtual Education ProgramHigh · 26 students
Nearby schools
- Virtual Education Program0.1 mi · 26
- De Soto High School0.2 mi · 918
- Lexington Trails Middle School0.4 mi · 393
- Eudora Elementary School5.4 mi · 650
- Linwood Elementary School5.5 mi · 248
- Mill Creek Middle School6.1 mi · 676
Frequently asked questions
About Starside ElemHow large is Starside Elem?
Starside Elem enrolls approximately 428 students in grades PK-05.
Is Starside Elem an elementary, middle, or high school?
Starside Elem is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Starside Elem have?
Starside Elem employs 39 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Starside Elem?
Student demographics at Starside Elem are roughly 56% White, 38% Hispanic, 2% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Starside Elem public or private?
Starside Elem is a public K-12 school, overseen by De Soto.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.