Cloud Elementary School

Cloud Elementary is a pre-kindergarten through fifth grade school. Our building contains 34 classrooms, a gymnasium, media center, cafeteria and two playgrounds. The student population at Cloud is approximately 830 and we proudly serve over 525 families.

Cloud has one full-time librarian, two full-time music teachers, two full-time P.E. teachers, as well as science teachers who serve the students of Cloud in a variety of ways. Our school has an interrelated special education program with three certified special education teachers, three full-time paraprofessionals, and three part-time paraprofessionals. We are also fortunate in that we have two Pre-K teachers and one Early Childhood Special Education teacher with four paraprofessionals. Our ESOL team consists of three certified teachers and eight paraprofessionals who coordinate resources and instruction for our students.

• Staff, parents, and students all work cooperatively to ensure student achievement
• Our average daily attendance rate is 96%
• Quarterly academic and attendance celebrations
• 5th grade students are scoring above proficiency in each trait on the state assessment in narrative writing
• Inter-Rater reliability is excellent among teams and district personnel
• Cloud staff are learning and implementing  SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) strategies across all content areas to improve student achievement
• Students involved in our After School Tutoring Program experienced tremendous growth
• Great gains were seen on Geometry Indicators according to our State Math Assessment results
• Cloud kids are doing well in regard to basic math skills (knowledge indicators) according to State Math Assessment results.

Exit west Kellogg to I-235 North. Go north on I-235 to 25^th St. Go east on 25^th Street to Cloud. See Maps for all USD 259 locations.

The mission of Cloud Elementary is to insure that all students achieve academic and social skills to their greatest potential, so that they may become productive, responsible citizens with respect for individual differences and cultures.

With input from Site Council and Cloud staff we have devised SIP (School Improvement Plan) that will focus on: 1) improved mathematical real word problem solving skills 2) improvement in expository writing, as well as 3) increased reading comprehension and use of academic vocabulary.

Cloud has a very active site council comprised of parents, business representatives, staff, and community members that meet monthly. The council identifies, considers, and discusses educational problems and issues in our school. Advice and council are provided for evaluating state, district, and building performance goals and objectives.

Meeting Day:  Second Tuesday of month
Time:  6 p.m.
Location: Cloud Library

• Title I
• ELL (English Language Learners)
• Newcomers
• Art, Music, P.E. and Science
• Pre-Kindergarten
• All day Kindergarten
• Reading and Math Family Nights
• After school tutoring
• Interrelated Special Education
• Technology in every classroom
• Reading is Fundamental (RIF)
• Lunch Bunch
• Homework Helpers
• School-wide discipline plan
• Standardized dress code
• Family Support Team
• Organized parent involvement volunteer activities
• Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts
• Campus Kids
• Adult English classes
• CIS (Communities In Schools)

• Conflict Busters
• Superstars/AllStars
• Safety Patrol
• Lunch Servers
• Tech Team
• DARE
• G.R.E.A.T.
• Honor's Choir
• Samba Band

With the 1950 postwar industrial growth in Wichita and its subsequent influx of people, it became apparent by the fall of 1953 that a new school building would need to be constructed to house pupils in the northwest part of the city. For, where waving fields of grain had flourished in 1952, now some 400 new homes stood occupied by young newcomers with growing families. As a result, in the fall of 1954 a blond-brick, ranch-style, 17-room schoolhouse was completed. A staff of nine teachers and a principal supervised the initial enrollment of 414 pupils. At a cost of $225,000, the completed structure was designed to house all pupils west of Woodland Street, north of 21st Street, south of 27th Street and east of the Arkansas River.

A dedicatory service for Cloud Elementary School was held on October 10, 1954. Named in honor of the great Indian educator, Henry Roe Cloud, these services centered about Dr. Cloud's life. His wife, Mrs. Cloud, was guest speaker. A full-blooded Winnebago Indian, Dr. Cloud was born in a wigwam in the area that is now Nebraska. In 1915 he founded the American Indian Institute at 4000 East 21st Street in Wichita. He was graduated with honors from Yale University with three degrees including the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1931 he was assigned by the Department of Interior to the position of Field Representative of Indian Affairs over the entire United States. No personality more dramatically represents the true purpose of the American Educational system than Dr. Cloud.

The enrollment at Cloud grew, and expansion plans were initiated regularly for the next five years, with an accumulated addition of seven annexes to house the approximately 600 pupils enrolling by 1960-61. A staff of 22 teachers and seven specialists was provided. Two more annexes were added in 1962. Enrollment reached 627 in 1964-65 and then gradually declined to around 300.

In 1972, Waco and Finn Elementary schools were sold to the Urban Renewal Agency; however, the buildings were leased back to the Board of Education until an addition to Cloud could be completed that would accommodate the pupils from the two schools. The architectural firm of Woodman, Van Doren and Reynolds planned and supervised the construction of 22 classrooms, a music room, a library media center and a multipurpose room. The new facility opened in the fall of 1974, increasing the total building capacity to 900.

At the beginning of the 1988-89 year, sixth-grade students were incorporated into the middle school program, leaving a PK-5 racially diverse enrollment of approximately 650 students.

In September 1997 the Board of Education approved a construction contract with Claassen Construction Co. for an addition to Cloud Elementary School in the total amount of $208,000.

In April 2000, the voters of the Wichita School District approved a $284.5 million bond issue. The projects began in the fall of 2000 and were completed over the next five years. The plan built 19 multipurpose rooms, upgraded science labs, replaced portable classrooms with permanent construction, improved handicap accessibility to all buildings, rebuilt five existing elementary schools, added a new elementary and middle school, expanded seven other elementary schools and provided nine new libraries as well as the expansion of nine others. Building infrastructure in 82 buildings was also upgraded, including the replacement of antiquated plumbing, updates and expansion of electrical systems, replacement of inefficient or broken windows and doors, upgrades of heating and cooling systems, and asbestos abatement when required.

Cloud received a new addition including a new kitchen. The new cafeteria was finished, and a new parking lot was installed. The district contracted with Sauerwein Construction Co. in the amount of $935,700 to complete the bond construction project.

The Bond project dedication ceremony was held April 27, 2006.