Evans Junior High School

Evans Junior High School is one of the reasonably sized 9-12 campuss in Ottumwa, Iowa, operated by Ottumwa Comm School District, with 684 students on its rolls from grades 8 through 9. Compared to the state average of about 468 students per school, that is 46% bigger than typical.

Within Ottumwa Comm School District, which oversees 12 schools and 5,005 students, Evans Junior High School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Evans Junior High School shows that the largest single group is White at 50%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school reports 26% Hispanic, 11% Pacific Islander, 8% Black, 3% Asian. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 79%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 53 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.0:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.3:1, putting Evans Junior High School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 44% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Evans Junior High School is in the bottom 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 69.8%; Evans Junior High School posts 57.4%, -12.4 points below that line.

Across the wider county, census data for Wapello County shows median household income runs about $64,766, about 20% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. In all, Wapello County runs 18 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,892 students), of which Evans Junior High School is one.

Ottumwa Virtual Learning is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Evans Junior High School comes 2nd of 5 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 45.7%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Evans Junior High School's enrollment has shrank 29% since 2018, when it stood at 968 (now 684). The White share of enrollment edged down from 64% to 50% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 14.9:1 in 2018 to 13.0:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, members of the Evans Junior High School community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.