East High School

Located at 815 E 13th St, in Des Moines, Iowa, East High School is a high-enrollment high school that hosts 1,952 students (grades 9 through 12), part of Des Moines Independent Comm School District. Enrollment runs roughly 317% above the state mean of about 468.

Des Moines Independent Comm School District comprises 59 schools with combined enrollment of 29,676 students; East High School is among them.

In terms of who attends, East High School reports that 46% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 25% White, 17% Black, 7% Asian, 5% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 10% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 89 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 21.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.3:1, putting East High School higher than the state norm the norm. About 78% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Polk County's rate of about 49%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, East High School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 52.7%; this one comes in at 38.3%, -14.5 points off the demographic line.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Polk County) records that the typical household earns roughly $83,576 per year, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across Polk County's 137 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students), East High School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Hiatt Middle School, roughly 0.3 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, East High School comes 8th of 9 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 43.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at East High School has declined 13%, going from 2,236 students in 2018 to 1,952 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment increased from 35% to 46% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 19.3:1 in 2018 to 21.8:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.