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Does Decorah Middle School have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
432
Middle
DISTRICT 304 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DECORAH COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190873000498
Decorah Middle School
405 Winnebago St., Decorah, IA 52101 · (563) 382-8427 · Winneshiek County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE33-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL432 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.3:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
26%
113 students
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 41%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 116 | 27% |
| Grade 6 | 100 | 23% |
| Grade 7 | 113 | 26% |
| Grade 8 | 103 | 24% |
Student demographics
22%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 48% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Decorah Middle School→Decorah High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Decorah Community School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
88.0%
IA avg 73.6% . +0.3pp since 2023
Math
83.7%
IA avg 70.9% . +0.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 88 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 84 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 88.0% | 83.7% |
| 2023-24 | 87.7% | 83.5% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
84.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
78.9%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 84% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 79% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Iowa's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Decorah Middle School
Decorah Middle School's state test result (84.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decorah Middle School this school | 432 | 26.2% | 84.2% |
| Mid-Prairie Middle School Kalona | 415 | 27.2% | 74.9% |
| North Scott Junior High School Eldridge | 531 | 26.2% | 80.4% |
| Spirit Lake Middle School Spirit Lake | 379 | 28.5% | 77.7% |
| Norway Elementary School Norway | 336 | 25.3% | 72.6% |
| Humboldt Middle School Humboldt | 454 | 30.4% | 80.0% |
Matched among Iowa middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Decorah Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 84.2% | #33 of 224 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 83.7% | #48 of 224 ▼ 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 88.0% | #29 of 224 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 432 | #88 of 246 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.3:1 | #19 of 180 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.4% | #128 of 180 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 26.2% | #186 of 237 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.4% | #31 of 103 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
432
-61 (-12%) vs 2020
+14% since 1990-91, when it was 378
Student : Teacher
12.3:1
was 13.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 432 | 35.3 | 12.3:1 | 26% (113) |
| 2023-24 | 436 | 35.6 | 12.2:1 | 28% (124) |
| 2022-23 | 461 | 35.5 | 13.0:1 | 26% (120) |
| 2020-21 | 493 | 36 | 13.7:1 | 25% (121) |
| 2017-18 | 517 | 33.7 | 15.3:1 | 22% (116) |
| 2015-16 | 517 | 32 | 16.2:1 | 30% (154) |
| 2010-11 | 456 | 32 | 14.3:1 | 25% (113) |
| 2000-01 | 495 | 26 | 19.0:1 | 18% (89) |
| 1990-91 | 378 | 27 | 14.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Decorah Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (517 to 432); teachers up 5% (33.7 to 35.3).
About Decorah Middle School
A mid-sized middle school in Decorah, Iowa, Decorah Middle School is part of Decorah Community School District. Its grade span covers grades 5 through 8, with 432 students on the rolls.
Decorah Community School District has 5 schools; together they serve 1,522 students.
The share of students at Decorah Middle School who are White is 88%. The remaining students are 6% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 22%.
Its staff includes 35.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 12.3 students per teacher. Compared with the 15.2:1 average for middle schools in Iowa, this school's ratio is lower. Roughly 26% of students at Decorah Middle School can receive free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Winneshiek County is similar, at 27%.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Decorah Middle School would be expected to post about 78.9%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 84.2%.
For Winneshiek County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $79,066, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. There are 10 public schools in the county, enrolling about 2,434, Decorah Middle School among them.
The closest school to Decorah Middle School is Carrie Lee Elementary, located less than a tenth of a mile away. Decorah Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with 4 others within five miles. Nearby schools average 81.7% on proficiency, and Decorah Middle School is above that at 84.2%.
In the federal locale system, Decorah Middle School is coded Town: Remote, for schools in a town far from an urbanized area.
The school's enrollment decreased 12% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio dropped from 13.7:1 to 12.3:1.
The discussion board for Decorah Middle School is open to topics like special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Winneshiek County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
19,873
Census ACS
Median income
$79,066
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
2,434 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Decorah Community School District
- Decorah High SchoolHigh · 555 students
- John Cline Elementary SchoolElementary · 300 students
- Carrie Lee ElementaryElementary · 215 students
- West Side Elementary SchoolElementary · 20 students
Other schools in Decorah
- Decorah High SchoolHigh · 555 students
- John Cline Elementary SchoolElementary · 300 students
- Carrie Lee ElementaryElementary · 215 students
- West Side Elementary SchoolElementary · 20 students
Nearby schools
- Carrie Lee Elementary0.1 mi · 215
- John Cline Elementary School0.3 mi · 300
- Decorah High School0.4 mi · 555
- West Side Elementary School0.8 mi · 20
- South Winneshiek High School9.2 mi · 205
- South Winneshiek Middle School11.0 mi · 126
Frequently asked questions
About Decorah Middle SchoolHow many students attend Decorah Middle School?
Decorah Middle School enrolls approximately 432 students in grades 05-08.
What grades does Decorah Middle School serve?
Decorah Middle School serves grades 05-08.
How many teachers does Decorah Middle School have?
Decorah Middle School employs 35 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.3:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Decorah Middle School?
At Decorah Middle School, the student body is approximately 88% White, 6% Hispanic, 2% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Decorah Middle School in?
Decorah Middle School is part of Decorah Community School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.