Emmetsburg Middle School

Located at 205 King Street, in Emmetsburg, Iowa, Emmetsburg Middle School is a small middle-grades school that teaches 199 students (grades 5 through 8), one of the schools within Emmetsburg Comm School District. That puts it 50% leaner than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 400 students.

Across the 3 schools in Emmetsburg Comm School District (727 students total), Emmetsburg Middle School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Emmetsburg Middle School records that 89% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. The remainder consists of 7% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. Compared to Palo Alto County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 7.2:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.2:1, putting Emmetsburg Middle School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 41% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Emmetsburg Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 71.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 76.9%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Palo Alto County indicate median household earnings sit near $72,781, about 19% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. In all, Palo Alto County runs 10 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,472 students), of which Emmetsburg Middle School is one.

Emmetsburg High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Emmetsburg Middle School. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Emmetsburg Middle School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 67.6%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Emmetsburg Middle School's enrollment has declined 16% since 2018, when it stood at 238 (now 199). The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 15.4:1 in 2018 to 7.2:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Emmetsburg Middle School community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.