Ballard East Elementary

Ballard East Elementary is a moderately sized primary school in Cambridge, Iowa, one of the schools within Ballard Comm School District. The school hosts 417 students in grades 3 through 5. That puts it 28% above the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 325 students.

Ballard Comm School District comprises 4 schools with combined enrollment of 1,872 students; Ballard East Elementary is among them.

In terms of who attends, Ballard East Elementary lists that nearly all students (91%) are White; the rest is composed of 5% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. By comparison, Story County as a whole is about 82% White, so the school skews meaningfully more White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.6:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 24% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Ballard East Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 80.2%; this one delivers 76.9%.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Story County shows median household earnings sit near $69,685, roughly 55% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Story County runs 26 public schools (combined enrollment of about 11,665 students), of which Ballard East Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Ballard Middle School, around 3.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Ballard East Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Ballard East Elementary at 6th of 8; the average score across the group is 79.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a countryside area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Ballard East Elementary has edged up 3%, going from 405 students in 2018 to 417 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 15.7:1 in 2018 to 12.6:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the feed for Ballard East Elementary typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.