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What do you wish you knew before starting at Forest City Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
448
Elementary
DISTRICT 361 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FOREST CITY COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 191179000715
Forest City Elementary School
1405 W I St, Forest City, IA 50436 · (641) 585-2670 · Winnebago County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY43-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL448 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 85% of Iowa public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Iowa public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.8:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.1:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
36%
161 students
DISTRICT 36% · STATE 41%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 70 | 16% |
| Kindergarten | 85 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 70 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 78 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 64 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 81 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (85) is about the same size as its 4th grade class (81).
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 31% · 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
Based on grade levels within Forest City Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
84.7%
IA avg 73.6% . +15.5pp since 2023
Math
87.5%
IA avg 70.9% . +5.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 85 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 88 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 16 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 84.7% | 87.5% |
| 2023-24 | 69.2% | 81.7% |
% 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
81.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
74.0%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 81% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 74% 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 Forest City Elementary School
Forest City Elementary School's state test result (81.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest City Elementary School this school | 448 | 35.9% | 81.0% |
| Hoover Elementary School Council Bluffs | 401 | 39.2% | 75.0% |
| College View Elementary Council Bluffs | 488 | 30.7% | 76.3% |
| Wilder Elementary School Indianola | 456 | 36.2% | 67.6% |
| Kluckhohn Elementary School Le Mars | 407 | 32.9% | 73.0% |
| Louisa-Muscatine Elementary Letts | 468 | 38.7% | 76.4% |
Matched among Iowa elementary 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 Forest City Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 81.0% | #115 of 564 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 87.5% | #72 of 564 ▲ 97 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 84.7% | #68 of 564 ▲ 238 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 448 | #150 of 705 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.8:1 | #98 of 561 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 35.3% | #307 of 561 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 35.9% | #421 of 666 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.5% | #120 of 359 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
448
-38 (-8%) vs 2020
-42% since 1990-91, when it was 776
Student : Teacher
11.8:1
was 14.7:1
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 | 448 | 37.9 | 11.8:1 | 36% (161) |
| 2023-24 | 462 | 35.7 | 13.0:1 | 40% (183) |
| 2022-23 | 487 | 35.7 | 13.7:1 | 39% (188) |
| 2020-21 | 486 | 33 | 14.7:1 | 36% (174) |
| 2017-18 | 543 | 35.9 | 15.1:1 | 38% (204) |
| 2015-16 | 530 | 39 | 13.6:1 | 40% (210) |
| 2010-11 | 578 | 40 | 14.4:1 | 22% (125) |
| 2000-01 | 630 | 50 | 12.6:1 | 23% (148) |
| 1990-91 | 776 | 46 | 16.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Forest City Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (543 to 448); teachers up 6% (35.9 to 37.9).
About Forest City Elementary School
Forest City Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school based in Forest City, Iowa. It covers pre-K through 4, with a total enrollment of 448 students. Enrollment is 38% higher than the average for elementary schools in Iowa, which is about 325.
Across its 3 schools, Forest City Comm School District enrolls 1,082 students. Forest City Elementary School is one of those schools.
At 79%, White students outnumber all other groups at Forest City Elementary School combined. The remaining students are 12% Hispanic and 7% multiracial. Among people living in Winnebago County, the White share is about 89%. Forest City Elementary School has a diversity index of 35%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
With 37.9 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Forest City Elementary School was 11.8:1. Among elementary schools in Iowa, the typical ratio is 13.7:1. Forest City Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 36%. That is close to the 36% average for public schools in Winnebago County.
allk12 grades Forest City Elementary School an A. The grade compares the school only with Iowa public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 74.0% for Forest City Elementary School. The school posts 81.0%, 7.0 points above the prediction.
Winnebago County census figures show that median household income is about $67,642, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 26% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. A total of 9 public schools operate in Winnebago County, serving about 2,190 students.
The nearest public school is Forest City High School, at about 0.2 miles. There are 2 other public schools within five miles. Among the 8 closest schools with test data, this one included, Forest City Elementary School ranks 4th on average proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Rural: Remote: in rural territory far from an urban area.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 486 to 448. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio fell from 14.7:1 to 11.8:1.
The discussion area below is open to posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Winnebago County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
10,583
Census ACS
Median income
$67,642
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
2,190 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Forest City Comm School District
- Forest City Middle SchoolMiddle · 330 students
- Forest City High SchoolHigh · 304 students
Other schools in Forest City
- Forest City Middle SchoolMiddle · 330 students
- Forest City High SchoolHigh · 304 students
Other Forest City Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Forest City Elementary. Forest City Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- FOREST CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL · 765 students
Nearby schools
- Forest City High School0.2 mi · 304
- Forest City Middle School0.3 mi · 330
- Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Elementary School11.9 mi · 381
- Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Middle School11.9 mi · 255
- Lake Mills Elementary School12.1 mi · 303
- Lake Mills Senior High School12.1 mi · 193
Frequently asked questions
About Forest City Elementary SchoolHow large is Forest City Elementary School?
Forest City Elementary School enrolls approximately 448 students in grades PK-04.
What grades does Forest City Elementary School serve?
Forest City Elementary School serves grades PK-04.
How many teachers does Forest City Elementary School have?
Forest City Elementary School employs 38 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.8:1.
What is the student diversity at Forest City Elementary School?
Student demographics at Forest City Elementary School are roughly 79% White, 12% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Forest City Elementary School public or private?
Forest City Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Forest City Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.