Delaware Elementary

Set in Des Moines, Iowa, Delaware Elementary is a reasonably sized elementary-level community, run under Southeast Polk Comm School District. It enrolls 440 students across grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 35% bigger than the state mean of about 325.

Within Southeast Polk Comm School District, which oversees 10 schools and 6,359 students, Delaware Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Delaware Elementary shows that the largest single group is White, at 61% of enrollment. The remainder consists of 14% Black, 13% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 6% Asian. By comparison, Polk County as a whole is about 76% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.1:1. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 46% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, Delaware Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 69.0%, the actual is 77.2%, a residual of +8.2 points.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Polk County) records that the typical household earns roughly $83,576 per year, roughly 40% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Polk County's 137 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students), Delaware Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Brubaker Elementary School, around 1.4 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Delaware Elementary at 1st of 8; the average score across the group is 48.8%.

Delaware Elementary operates from a metropolitan location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count grew 5%: 418 students in 2018 compared to 440 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 80% to 61%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 13.7:1 in 2018 to 12.1:1 today.

On the community side, 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.