Roosevelt High School

As a large secondary school in Des Moines, Iowa, Roosevelt High School enrolls 2,051 students from grades 9 through 12, overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District. Enrollment runs roughly 338% above the state mean of about 468.

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

For racial and ethnic makeup, Roosevelt High School records that 41% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest comes out to 27% Black, 18% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 3% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 76% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Roosevelt High School has 66 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 31.3:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 17.3:1 average. Roughly 55% of students at Roosevelt High School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Roosevelt High School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 64.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 59.5%.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Polk County put median household earnings sit near $83,576, roughly 40% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Across Polk County's 137 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students), Roosevelt High School is one campus in the mix.

Hubbell Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Roosevelt High School at 6th of 8; the average score across the group is 63.2%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 6%: 1,943 students in 2018 compared to 2,051 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share contracted from 50% to 41%. Class-load math has loosened: from 24.4:1 in 2018 to 31.3:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.