Central Lyon Secondary School

Set in Rock Rapids, Iowa, Central Lyon Secondary School is a low-enrollment four-year high school, overseen by Central Lyon Comm School District. It works with 358 students across grades 7 through 12. That puts it 24% smaller than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 468 students.

Central Lyon Secondary School is one of 2 schools operated by Central Lyon Comm School District, a district that caters to 789 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Central Lyon Secondary School records that the student body is overwhelmingly White (91%). Beyond that, the school records 5% Hispanic, 3% Black. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, The school currently runs with 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.2:1. The state averages around 17.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 24% of students at Central Lyon Secondary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Central Lyon Secondary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 79.9%, the actual is 85.4%, a residual of +5.5 points.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Lyon County indicate median household earnings sit near $76,746, about 20% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Lyon County's 9 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,157 students), Central Lyon Secondary School is one campus in the mix.

Central Lyon Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Within ten miles, there are 3 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Central Lyon Secondary School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 67.3%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Five-year trend. Central Lyon Secondary School's enrollment has grew 81% since 2018, when it stood at 198 (now 358). Class-load math has rose: from 9.9:1 in 2018 to 13.2:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the Central Lyon Secondary School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.