Sunset Elementary

Sunset Elementary, a small elementary-level community in Newton, Kansas, run under Newton, teaches 199 students, covering grades K through 4. Compared to the state average of about 313 students per school, that is 36% below typical.

Sunset Elementary is one of 8 schools operated by Newton, a district that enrolls 2,943 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Sunset Elementary records that 70% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder comes out to 19% Hispanic, 9% multiracial. By comparison, Harvey County as a whole is about 84% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, On paper, Sunset Elementary has 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.2:1, putting Sunset Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 77% of students at Sunset Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Harvey County (around 52%), the school's rate is north of typical.

With demographic context factored in, Sunset Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 25.1%; this one delivers 27.1%.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Harvey County put median household income runs about $74,368, roughly 30% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Sunset Elementary is one of 18 public schools in Harvey County (combined enrollment of about 5,012 students).

The closest other public school is Opportunity Academy, roughly 0.2 miles away. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Sunset Elementary comes 5th of 9 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 28.2%.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 27%: 273 students in 2018 compared to 199 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment fell from 32% to 19% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 12.8:1 in 2018 to 10.5:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.