Fred Becker Elementary School

Fred Becker Elementary School is an elementary campus of well-populated scale in Waterloo, Iowa, operated by Waterloo Comm School District, educateing 501 students in grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 54% above the state mean of about 325.

Across the 18 schools in Waterloo Comm School District (10,484 students total), Fred Becker Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Fred Becker Elementary School records that 37% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 29% Black, 15% multiracial, 12% Hispanic, 5% Pacific Islander. By comparison, Black Hawk County as a whole is about 80% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Fred Becker Elementary School has 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.1:1. The state averages about 13.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 78% of students at Fred Becker Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably above Black Hawk County's rate of about 52%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Fred Becker Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 52.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 53.5%.

In the area at large, census data for Black Hawk County shows the typical household earns roughly $66,417 per year, 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. Across Black Hawk County's 35 public schools (combined enrollment of about 18,224 students), Fred Becker Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Central Middle School, roughly 0.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Fred Becker Elementary School at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 64.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a city-core area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Fred Becker Elementary School has remained close to its prior level, going from 501 students in 2018 to 501 in 2025. The White share of enrollment shrank from 48% to 37% over that span.

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