Alta Elementary School

Located at 1009 Main St, in Alta, Iowa, Alta Elementary School is a modestly sized elementary-level community that hosts 256 students (grades pre-K through 4), one of the schools within Alta-Aurelia Comm School District. Compared to the state average of about 325 students per school, that is 21% smaller than typical.

Alta Elementary School is one of 4 schools operated by Alta-Aurelia Comm School District, a district that works with 829 students overall.

Demographically, Alta Elementary School shows that 64% of the student body identifies as White. Other groups include 21% Hispanic, 7% Pacific Islander, 3% Black, 2% multiracial.

On the income-and-resources front, Alta Elementary School shows 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.4:1. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 41% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably below Buena Vista County's rate of about 60%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Alta Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 71.6%; Alta Elementary School posts 85.7%, +14.1 points above that line.

Across the wider county, census data for Buena Vista County shows the typical household earns roughly $71,719 per year, about 22% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Buena Vista County runs 15 public schools (combined enrollment of about 4,691 students), of which Alta Elementary School is one.

Alta-Aurelia High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 4 other public schools. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Alta Elementary School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 50.2%.

The school occupies an outlying site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Alta Elementary School has contracted 16%, going from 303 students in 2018 to 256 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 72% to 64%. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 14.3:1 in 2018 to 15.4:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the feed for Alta Elementary School typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.