Sunflower State Education Coverage, Driven by Data
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McPherson's incoming superintendent says visibility, trust, and shared leadership will matter as the district starts a new chapter during bond construction.
Retraction: we reported that four Kansas school districts closed this year. Burrton, Cedar Vale, Lewis and Triplains are all open. We withdraw the article.
Retraction: our report that white students had fallen to 60% of Kansas enrollment rested on incomplete district counts. We withdraw the article in full.
Five years after COVID emptied Kansas classrooms, the state has not recovered a student. Nearly six in 10 districts sit below their COVID trough.
Three southwest Kansas districts built around beef plants have become among the most Hispanic school systems in the state, reshaping how Kansas funds and staffs its schools.
Retraction: our report that one in seven Kansas students receives special education services was built from incomplete district counts. We withdraw the article in full.
After a brief post-COVID recovery, Kansas enrollment has dropped for three straight years, with 205 districts losing students in 2026 and no sign of stabilization.
Piper-Kansas City added students in 20 consecutive school years, 1,440 in all. Goddard's 18-year run is second. Both have now ended.
Retraction: our report that Turner-Kansas City had the largest white enrollment drop in Kansas rested on counts KSDE never published. We withdraw it in full.
Corrected: KSDE counted 471,334 students statewide in 2025-26, a three-year decline of 12,734 students and the lowest headcount Kansas has posted since 2008.