The bulletin board for America's public schools. Parents, teachers, students, and staff. One community per school.
Schools›Iowa›Des Moines
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897000746

Brubaker Elementary School

2900 E 42nd Street, Des Moines, IA 50317 · (515) 242-8405 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL622 STUDENTS
Enrollment
622
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 325
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
83%
518 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten8614%
Grade 111318%
Grade 28714%
Grade 311518%
Grade 410717%
Grade 511418%

This year's kindergarten class (86) is 25% smaller than its 5th grade class (114).

Student demographics
73%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · STATE 48% · US 70%
White
22837%
DISTRICT 30% · STATE 70% · US 43%
Hispanic
18530%
DISTRICT 32% · STATE 14% · US 30%
Black
12720%
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 7% · US 15%
Asian
264%
DISTRICT 7% · STATE 2% · US 6%
Two+
518%
DISTRICT 7% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
41%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 1% · US 0%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
30749%
Female
31551%

Discussions

HotNewTop
+ POST

Test scores

ISASP 2024-25 . % Proficient
English Language Arts
45.8%
IA avg 73.6% . +6.1pp since 2023
Math
43.0%
IA avg 70.9% . +5.4pp since 2023

What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.

ISASP results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2545.8%43.0%
2023-2439.7%37.6%
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
38.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.4pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 50% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.

BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

Schools most like Brubaker Elementary School

Brubaker Elementary School's state test result (38.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Brubaker Elementary School this school62283.3%38.9%
Park Ave Elementary School
Des Moines
38082.6%40.9%
Lowell Elementary School
Waterloo
53877.9%51.0%
Studebaker Elementary School
Des Moines
56186.3%42.2%
Morris Elementary School
Des Moines
51987.7%47.3%
Leeds Elementary School
Sioux City
59376.2%65.4%
Matched among Iowa elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.

Where Brubaker Elementary School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn IowaIn Polk County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
38.9%#552 of 564#73 of 78
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
43.0%#548 of 564
▲ 7
#70 of 78
▲ 5
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
45.8%#528 of 564
▲ 14
#62 of 78
▲ 7
Enrollment
ranked largest first
622#28 of 705#7 of 89
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
12.1:1#119 of 561#16 of 86
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
72.7%#22 of 561#13 of 86
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
83.3%#34 of 666#22 of 89
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-12.3%#192 of 359#34 of 64
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
622
-21 (-3%) vs 2020
-6% since 2010-11, when it was 661
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
was 12.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2562251.612.1:183% (518)
2023-246185112.1:175% (465)
2022-2362252.411.9:185% (530)
2020-216435212.4:182% (527)
2017-1870953.813.2:180% (569)
2015-166975612.4:180% (561)
2010-116614913.5:175% (498)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Brubaker Elementary School.

Since 2017-18: students down 12% (709 to 622); teachers down 4% (53.8 to 51.6).

About Brubaker Elementary School

Brubaker Elementary School is a large elementary school. Its address is in Des Moines, Iowa. It teaches 622 students in kindergarten through 5. It has 91% more students than the average for elementary schools in Iowa (about 325).

Des Moines Independent Comm School District has 59 schools and 29,676 students, and Brubaker Elementary School is one of those schools.

The student body at Brubaker Elementary School has no majority group. White students lead at 37%. The next largest groups are 30% Hispanic, 20% Black, 8% multiracial, and 4% Asian. The school's White share is 39 points below the 76% share among Polk County residents. A diversity index of 73% means there is a 73% chance two randomly chosen students at Brubaker Elementary School are from different groups.

A staff of 51.6 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 12.1:1. The gap from the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Iowa is 1.7 students per teacher. By family income, 83% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 49% average for public schools in Polk County, the school's rate is higher.

Brubaker Elementary School ranks in the bottom 10% of Iowa schools after adjusting test results for student poverty. Actual: 38.9%. Predicted: 50.3%. Difference: 11.4 points.

In Polk County, home to about 503,175 people, median household income comes to about $83,576, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 40%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. There are 137 public schools in the county, enrolling about 77,436, Brubaker Elementary School among them.

Hoyt Middle School is less than a tenth of a mile away, making it the nearest public school. Brubaker Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Local comparison: Brubaker Elementary School ranks 7th of 8 nearby schools, at 38.9% versus a 49.7% average.

NCES assigns Brubaker Elementary School the locale City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.

From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell from 643 to 622, a 3% decline.

You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

Polk County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students

Quick facts

School name
Brubaker Elementary School
District
Des Moines Independent Comm School District
Address
2900 E 42nd Street, Des Moines, IA 50317
Phone
(515) 242-8405
County
Polk County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–05
Total enrollment
622
Teachers (FTE)
52
Student–teacher ratio
12.1:1
Free and reduced lunch
518 (83%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
190897000746
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District
Other schools in Des Moines
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Brubaker Elementary School
How many students attend Brubaker Elementary School?
Brubaker Elementary School enrolls approximately 622 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Brubaker Elementary School serve?
Brubaker Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Brubaker Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Brubaker Elementary School is approximately 12.1:1 (52 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Brubaker Elementary School?
At Brubaker Elementary School, the student body is approximately 37% White, 30% Hispanic, 20% Black, 4% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Who oversees Brubaker Elementary School?
Brubaker Elementary School is overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District in Polk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
＋ Post