Clive Learning Academy

Clive Learning Academy operates as a large elementary campus in Des Moines, Iowa, overseen by West Des Moines Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 551 students spanning grades pre-K through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 70% bigger than the state mean of about 325.

Across the 13 schools in West Des Moines Comm School District (9,009 students total), Clive Learning Academy accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Clive Learning Academy reports that 45% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest is composed of 18% Black, 18% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, 7% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 76% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 43 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.7:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 60% of students at Clive Learning Academy qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Polk County (around 49%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Clive Learning Academy sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 62.1%; this one delivers 70.1%.

Zooming out to the county, Polk County reports that median household earnings sit near $83,576, roughly 40% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Clive Learning Academy is one of 137 public schools in Polk County (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students).

Cowles Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Clive Learning Academy ranks 5th on composite proficiency, above the local average of 67.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a commuter-belt area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Clive Learning Academy has ticked up 3%, going from 537 students in 2018 to 551 in 2025. The White share of enrollment edged down from 50% to 45% over that span.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.