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What's one community event at Whitson Elem more people should show up to?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
416
Elementary
DISTRICT 399 · STATE 313
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TOPEKA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 201226001466
Whitson Elem
1725 SW Arnold Ave, Topeka, KS 66604 · (785) 438-4570 · Shawnee County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL416 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.4:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
64%
267 students
DISTRICT 79% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 14 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 59 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 62 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 71 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 73 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 71 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (59) is 11% smaller than its 5th grade class (66).
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · 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
54.5%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
40.5%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 41 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 | 54.5% | 40.5% |
| 2023-24 | 47.7% | 38.8% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of KS schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
46.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.5%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 31% typical for Kansas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 15 points, placing it in Kansas's top 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 Whitson Elem
Whitson Elem's state test result (46.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitson Elem this school | 416 | 64.2% | 46.6% |
| Schwegler Elem Lawrence | 434 | 61.5% | 37.4% |
| Earhart Environ Magnet Elem Wichita | 471 | 60.1% | 42.6% |
| South Breeze Elementary Newton | 316 | 62.0% | 29.1% |
| Grand Star Elementary Gardner | 380 | 56.3% | 43.2% |
| Bonner Springs Elementary Bonner Springs | 351 | 61.3% | 44.5% |
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 Whitson Elem ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas | In Shawnee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.6% | #270 of 625 | #11 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.5% | #327 of 625 | #12 of 30 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.5% | #246 of 625 | #6 of 30 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 416 | #164 of 714 | #14 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.9:1 | #195 of 539 | #12 of 29 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.2% | #103 of 540 | #11 of 29 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 64.2% | #214 of 658 | #15 of 30 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.0% | #116 of 151 | #5 of 7 |
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
416
+35 (+9%) vs 2020
+14% since 1990-91, when it was 366
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
was 11.6:1
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 | 416 | 32.3 | 12.9:1 | 64% (267) |
| 2023-24 | 434 | 31.2 | 13.9:1 | 63% (272) |
| 2022-23 | 450 | 31.8 | 14.1:1 | 66% (295) |
| 2020-21 | 381 | 33 | 11.6:1 | 64% (243) |
| 2017-18 | 400 | 33.7 | 11.9:1 | 63% (251) |
| 2015-16 | 485 | 34 | 14.3:1 | 70% (339) |
| 2010-11 | 481 | 31 | 15.5:1 | 58% (280) |
| 2000-01 | 416 | 25 | 16.6:1 | 44% (182) |
| 1990-91 | 366 | 21 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Whitson Elem.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (400 to 416); teachers down 4% (33.7 to 32.3).
About Whitson Elem
Topeka, Kansas, is home to Whitson Elem, a medium-sized elementary school. Grades offered run from pre-K through 5, with 416 students enrolled. The average among elementary schools in Kansas is roughly 313 students; this school is 33% above that.
Topeka Public Schools enrolls 11,695 students in 25 schools, including Whitson Elem.
At Whitson Elem, the largest share of students is White, at 50%. Next come 30% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, and 7% Black. The county population is about 75% White. The school's diversity index is 64%, meaning two students picked at random have a 64% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.9:1 at Whitson Elem, with 32.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is close to the 13.2:1 average for elementary schools in Kansas. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 64% of enrollment. Across public schools in Shawnee County, the average is 54%.
On BeatsExpectations, which compares test results with what a school's student poverty level would predict, Whitson Elem ranks in the top 10% in Kansas. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 46.6%, against a prediction of 31.5%.
County data help place the school in context: in Shawnee County, the median household income is $67,104, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 32%, and about 9% of people live in poverty. In all, Shawnee County has 54 public schools and roughly 26,294 students.
Randolph Elem is the closest public school, about 0.6 miles away in a straight line. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Whitson Elem comes in 1st of 9 nearby schools on average proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Mid-size: inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Whitson Elem's enrollment grew from 381 in 2020-21 to 416 in 2024-25. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (12.9:1) than in 2020-21 (11.6:1).
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Shawnee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
178,025
Census ACS
Median income
$67,104
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
54
26,294 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Topeka Public Schools
- Topeka HighHigh · 1,578 students
- Topeka West HighHigh · 971 students
- Highland Park HighHigh · 835 students
- Jardine ElementaryElementary · 729 students
- Ross ElementaryElementary · 563 students
- Jardine Middle SchoolMiddle · 508 students
Other schools in Topeka
- Washburn Rural HighHigh · 1,878 students
- Topeka HighHigh · 1,578 students
- Seaman HighHigh · 1,190 students
- Topeka West HighHigh · 971 students
- Washburn Rural Middle SchoolMiddle · 966 students
- Highland Park HighHigh · 835 students
Nearby schools
- Randolph Elem0.6 mi · 346
- Hope Street Charter Academy0.8 mi · 103
- Topeka West High1.5 mi · 971
- Lowman Hill Elem1.5 mi · 294
- Robinson Middle School1.5 mi · 361
- McCarter Elem1.6 mi · 401
Frequently asked questions
About Whitson ElemHow many students attend Whitson Elem?
Whitson Elem enrolls approximately 416 students in grades PK-05.
Is Whitson Elem an elementary, middle, or high school?
Whitson Elem is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Whitson Elem?
Approximately 12.9:1 students per teacher at Whitson Elem.
What is the student diversity at Whitson Elem?
Student demographics at Whitson Elem are roughly 50% White, 30% Hispanic, 7% Black, 1% Asian, 12% Two or more.
What district is Whitson Elem in?
Whitson Elem is part of Topeka Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.