1
What clubs or activities at Sunflower Elem are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
373
Elementary
DISTRICT 376 · STATE 313
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PAOLA·NCES 201050001627
Sunflower Elem
1401 E 303rd St, Paola, KS 66071 · (913) 294-8040 · Miami County
GRADES 03–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL373 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
40%
151 students
DISTRICT 38% · STATE 51%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 105 | 28% |
| Grade 4 | 121 | 32% |
| Grade 5 | 147 | 39% |
Student demographics
24%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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Paola. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
61.9%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
45.4%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 45 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 | 61.9% | 45.4% |
| 2023-24 | 50.5% | 48.2% |
% 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
52.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.8%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% 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 Sunflower Elem
Sunflower Elem's state test result (52.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunflower Elem this school | 373 | 40.5% | 52.0% |
| Cottonwood Elem Paola | 379 | 41.4% | N/A |
| Sabetha Elementary School Sabetha | 401 | 39.9% | 53.5% |
| Mulvane Elem W D Munson Mulvane | 406 | 40.1% | N/A |
| Mulvane Grade School Mulvane | 368 | 42.7% | 37.6% |
| Soderstrom Elem Lindsborg | 318 | 41.5% | 61.3% |
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 Sunflower Elem ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas | In Miami County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 52.0% | #195 of 625 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.4% | #265 of 625 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.9% | #150 of 625 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 373 | #235 of 714 | #4 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.9:1 | #196 of 539 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 24.2% | #462 of 540 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.5% | #466 of 658 | #4 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.8% | #231 of 377 | N/A |
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
373
+7 (+2%) vs 2020
-17% since 1990-91, when it was 447
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
was 12.2:1
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 | 373 | 29 | 12.9:1 | 40% (151) |
| 2023-24 | 379 | 27.5 | 13.8:1 | 41% (155) |
| 2022-23 | 403 | 29 | 13.9:1 | 38% (154) |
| 2020-21 | 366 | 30 | 12.2:1 | 32% (118) |
| 2017-18 | 418 | 29.5 | 14.2:1 | 41% (170) |
| 2015-16 | 409 | 28 | 14.6:1 | 40% (165) |
| 2010-11 | 384 | 24 | 16.0:1 | 45% (171) |
| 2000-01 | 390 | 24 | 16.3:1 | 28% (108) |
| 1990-91 | 447 | 28 | 16.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sunflower Elem.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (418 to 373); teachers down 2% (29.5 to 29).
About Sunflower Elem
Sunflower Elem is a medium-sized elementary school that serves part of Paola, Kansas. Students in grades 3 through 5 attend, and enrollment is 373 students.
Paola includes 4 schools. Together they enroll 1,732 students.
White students are the large majority at Sunflower Elem, with 87% of enrollment. Other groups make up 7% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. The county population is about 90% White, within a few points of the school. By the diversity index, Sunflower Elem comes in at 24%.
Sunflower Elem's 29 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 12.9:1. Elementary schools in Kansas have a similar average ratio of 13.2:1. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 40%.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Sunflower Elem would score about 42.8%. It scores 52.0%, 9.2 points above that figure.
Among Miami County residents, median household income is about $89,000, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 31%, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Sunflower Elem is one of 17 public schools in Miami County, which together enroll about 6,529 students.
The closest public school to Sunflower Elem is Paola High, about 0.1 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number 3. The school's 52.0% average proficiency ranks 1st among 6 nearby schools.
Its NCES locale code is Town: Distant: the school is in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Federal data show 366 students in 2020-21 and 373 in 2024-25, a difference of under 3%.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at Sunflower Elem. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Miami County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
34,938
Census ACS
Median income
$89,000
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
17
6,529 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Paola
- Paola HighHigh · 567 students
- Paola MiddleMiddle · 413 students
- Cottonwood ElemElementary · 379 students
Other schools in Paola
- Paola HighHigh · 567 students
- Paola MiddleMiddle · 413 students
- Cottonwood ElemElementary · 379 students
Other Sunflower Elementary schools
8 other US public schools in 3 states are named Sunflower Elementary. Sunflower Elem is the 5th largest of the 9.
- Sunflower Elementary SchoolLiberal, KS · 570 students
- Sunflower ElementaryLawrence, KS · 444 students
- Sunflower ElemLenexa, KS · 390 students
- Sunflower Elementary SchoolAndover, KS · 367 students
- Sunflower Elementary SchoolOttawa, KS · 333 students
Nearby schools
- Paola High0.1 mi · 567
- Cottonwood Elem0.2 mi · 379
- Paola Middle0.3 mi · 413
- Osawatomie Middle School7.4 mi · 195
- Osawatomie Virtual School7.9 mi · 18
- Osawatomie High7.9 mi · 295
Frequently asked questions
About Sunflower ElemHow large is Sunflower Elem?
Sunflower Elem enrolls approximately 373 students in grades 03-05.
What grades does Sunflower Elem serve?
Sunflower Elem serves grades 03-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunflower Elem?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Sunflower Elem is approximately 12.9:1 (29 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Sunflower Elem?
Sunflower Elem reports a student body of 87% White, 7% Hispanic, 1% Black, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Sunflower Elem?
Sunflower Elem is overseen by Paola in Miami County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.