Cunningham School

As a middle-of-the-pack K-5 school in Waterloo, Iowa, Cunningham School instructs 443 students from grades pre-K through 5, run under Waterloo Comm School District. By comparison, Iowa's public schools average about 325 students each, so Cunningham School sits 36% bigger than that benchmark.

Waterloo Comm School District runs 18 schools in total, collectively educating 10,484 students. Cunningham School is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Cunningham School lists that 58% of the student body identifies as Black. The remainder breaks down as 14% multiracial, 11% Hispanic, 9% Pacific Islander, 7% White. The wider county runs roughly 9% Black, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.7:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. About 91% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Black Hawk County runs at roughly 52%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Cunningham School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 46.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 38.1%.

Around the school, Black Hawk County reports that median household earnings sit near $66,417, 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. Across Black Hawk County's 35 public schools (combined enrollment of about 18,224 students), Cunningham School is one campus in the mix.

East High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Cunningham School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Cunningham School ranks 8th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 53.1%.

Cunningham School operates from an urban location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cunningham School has climbed 10%, going from 403 students in 2018 to 443 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share ticked down from 69% to 58%.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.