Olathe-area schools crack Kansas top 10 in U.S. News rankings

Two elementary schools with Olathe addresses landed in the top 10 of the U.S. News & World Report Best Kansas Elementary Schools rankings.

Timber Sage Elementary School earned the No. 6 spot statewide with an overall score of 99.21 out of 100, according to its U.S. News profile. Meadow Lane Elementary placed No. 10 with a score of 98.58 out of 100, according to its U.S. News profile.

Both schools were ranked out of 635 elementary schools in Kansas.

A district distinction worth noting: Timber Sage sits at 15800 W. 173rd Terrace in Olathe but is operated by Spring Hill USD 230, not Olathe USD 233. That makes Meadow Lane, at 21880 College Blvd., the highest-ranked elementary school within the Olathe school district.

Timber Sage principal Jody Moeschler leads a staff of 29 full-time teachers, all of whom are certified, according to the school's U.S. News profile. The school serves 401 students in grades PK through 5 with a 14:1 student-teacher ratio.

At Timber Sage, 82% of students scored at or above the proficient level in math and 72% in reading, according to U.S. News. Those figures outpace the Spring Hill district averages of 58% in math and 54% in reading. They also far exceed the Kansas statewide averages of 38% in both subjects.

Timber Sage ranked No. 2 statewide in math proficiency (tied) and No. 9 in reading proficiency (tied). Both its math and reading performance ratings were "well above expectations."

Meadow Lane serves 349 students in grades PK through 5 with a 15:1 student-teacher ratio and 23 full-time certified teachers. The school posted 77% math proficiency and 72% reading proficiency, according to U.S. News. The Olathe district averages are 54% in math and 47% in reading.

The U.S. News rankings weigh four factors equally at 25% each: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance. Half the formula measures raw test scores. The other half factors in socioeconomic demographics, according to the U.S. News methodology. Only public schools are ranked because they participate in common statewide assessments.

The rankings cover nearly 47,000 elementary schools and more than 24,000 middle schools nationwide. School profile data comes from the Common Core of Data (2025) and Civil Rights Data Collection (2023-2024), with state assessment data sourced from the EdFacts Initiative (2022-2023 and 2021-2022).

Kansas top 10 elementary schools

The full list of Kansas elementary school rankings is available on the U.S. News website.