Central Elementary

Located at 400 1st Street NW, in Elkader, Iowa, Central Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack elementary-level community that teaches 292 students (grades pre-K through 6), run under Central Comm School District.

Within Central Comm School District, which oversees 2 schools and 474 students, Central Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Central Elementary records that the student body is overwhelmingly White (88%). Other groups include 7% Hispanic, 5% multiracial.

On the resource side, On paper, Central Elementary has 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.3:1. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 47% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Clayton County (around 39%), the school's rate is north of typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Central Elementary is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 68.3%; this one delivers 80.4%, a residual of +12.1 points.

Around the school, Clayton County reports that median household income runs about $67,242, 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Clayton County runs 11 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,625 students), of which Central Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Central Middle School/High School, around 0.0 miles off. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Central Elementary ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 73.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a rural area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Central Elementary has climbed 46%, going from 200 students in 2018 to 292 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share decreased from 97% to 88%. Class-load math has widened: from 14.0:1 in 2018 to 15.3:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.