Cooper Elementary School

Cooper Elementary School operates as a compact primary school in Fort Dodge, Iowa, overseen by Fort Dodge Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 231 students spanning grades 1 through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 29% leaner than the state mean of about 325.

Fort Dodge Comm School District comprises 7 schools with combined enrollment of 3,385 students; Cooper Elementary School is among them.

On demographics, Cooper Elementary School reports that 78% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder comes out to 9% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 4% Black. That is visibly less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 86%.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.2:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 13.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 44% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Cooper Elementary School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 70.1%; this one comes in at 45.4%, -24.6 points off the demographic line.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Webster County put median household earnings sit near $68,975, roughly 22% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Webster County runs 12 public schools (combined enrollment of about 4,678 students), of which Cooper Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Fort Dodge High School, around 0.4 miles off. Within five miles, there are 6 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Cooper Elementary School at 6th of 7; the average score across the group is 56.7%.

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

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cooper Elementary School has fell 18%, going from 281 students in 2018 to 231 in 2025. Class-load math has rose: from 11.5:1 in 2018 to 14.2:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.