Enrollment
327
Elementary
DISTRICT 298 · STATE 315
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FORT OSAGE R-I·NCES 291229000490
BUCKNER ELEM.
25102 E. US 24 Highway, INDEPENDENCE, MO 64056 · (816) 650-7300 · Jackson County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL327 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.0:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 12.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
149 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 54%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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
Based on grade levels within FORT OSAGE R-I. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MO DVT (Growth) 2024-25 . Growth Percentile vs PeersEnglish Language Arts
95.0%
MO avg 49.5% . +38.0pp since 2023
Math
94.0%
MO avg 48.7% . +27.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the MO DVT (Growth), Missouri's statewide test, about 95 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 94 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Missouri schools, those numbers are about 50 and 49. Reading and writing scores are up about 38 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 27 points.
Source: MO DVT (Growth). All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MO schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
78.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.4%
based on MO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+27.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 78% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 50% typical for Missouri 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 28 points, placing it in Missouri'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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
327
-20 (-6%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
12.0:1
was 13.6:1
% White
82%
was 90%
% Hispanic
8%
was 4%
% Black
2%
was 2%
% Asian
0%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About BUCKNER ELEM.
Located at 25102 E. US 24 Highway, in INDEPENDENCE, Missouri, BUCKNER ELEM. is a reasonably sized elementary school that hosts 327 students (grades K through 4), part of FORT OSAGE R-I.
FORT OSAGE R-I comprises 9 schools with combined enrollment of 4,718 students; BUCKNER ELEM. is among them.
In terms of who attends, BUCKNER ELEM. records that the student body is overwhelmingly White (82%). Other groups include 8% multiracial, 8% Hispanic, 2% Black. By comparison, Jackson County as a whole is about 62% White, so the school skews considerably more White than its surroundings.
On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.0:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. About 46% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Jackson County runs at roughly 60%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.
Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, BUCKNER ELEM. is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 50.4%; this one delivers 78.3%, a residual of +27.8 points.
In the area at large, ACS estimates for Jackson County put median household income runs about $68,577, 34% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. BUCKNER ELEM. is one of 244 public schools in Jackson County (combined enrollment of about 105,714 students).
The closest other public school is FIRE PRAIRIE MIDDLE, roughly 4.7 miles away. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), BUCKNER ELEM. ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 47.7%.
The campus sits in a countryside setting.
Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at BUCKNER ELEM. has shrank 6%, going from 347 students in 2018 to 327 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 90% to 82% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 13.6:1 in 2018 to 12.0:1 in 2025.
Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.
Jackson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
719,976
Census ACS
Median income
$68,577
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
244
105,714 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in FORT OSAGE R-I
- FORT OSAGE HIGHHigh · 1,545 students
- FIRE PRAIRIE MIDDLEMiddle · 713 students
- OSAGE TRAIL MIDDLEMiddle · 675 students
- INDIAN TRAILS ELEM.Elementary · 365 students
- BLUE HILLS ELEM.Elementary · 357 students
- ELM GROVE ELEM.Elementary · 305 students
Other schools in INDEPENDENCE
- TRUMAN HIGHHigh · 1,720 students
- FORT OSAGE HIGHHigh · 1,545 students
- WILLIAM CHRISMAN HIGHHigh · 1,417 students
- CLIFFORD H. NOWLIN MIDDLEMiddle · 902 students
- BRIDGER MIDDLEMiddle · 744 students
- PIONEER RIDGE MIDDLEMiddle · 731 students
Nearby schools
- FIRE PRAIRIE MIDDLE4.7 mi · 713
- OSAGE TRAIL MIDDLE4.9 mi · 675
- FORT OSAGE HIGH5.1 mi · 1,545
- INDIAN TRAILS ELEM.5.2 mi · 365
- GRAIN VALLEY NORTH MIDDLE SCHL5.9 mi · 527
- GRAIN VALLEY EARLY CHILDHD CTR5.9 mi · 83
Frequently asked questions
About BUCKNER ELEM.What is the total enrollment at BUCKNER ELEM.?
BUCKNER ELEM. enrolls approximately 327 students in grades KG-04.
Is BUCKNER ELEM. an elementary, middle, or high school?
BUCKNER ELEM. is an elementary school covering grades KG-04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at BUCKNER ELEM.?
The student-to-teacher ratio at BUCKNER ELEM. is approximately 12.0:1 (27 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at BUCKNER ELEM.?
At BUCKNER ELEM., the student body is approximately 82% White, 8% Hispanic, 2% Black, 8% Two or more.
What district is BUCKNER ELEM. in?
BUCKNER ELEM. is part of FORT OSAGE R-I.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.