Glidden-Ralston Elementary School

Glidden-Ralston Elementary School is one of the intimate primary schools in Glidden, Iowa, operated by Glidden-Ralston Comm School District, with 227 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 30% smaller than the state mean of about 325.

Glidden-Ralston Comm School District comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 390 students; Glidden-Ralston Elementary School is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Glidden-Ralston Elementary School reports that 96% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 4% Hispanic. Compared to Carroll County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.7:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.7:1, putting Glidden-Ralston Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. About 36% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Glidden-Ralston Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 74.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 73.7%.

Zooming out to the county, Carroll County reports that the typical household earns roughly $72,930 per year, about 24% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. Across Carroll County's 10 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,912 students), Glidden-Ralston Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Glidden-Ralston Jr-Sr High School, around 0.0 miles off. Within ten miles, there are 5 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Glidden-Ralston Elementary School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 72.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a countryside area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count expanded 9%: 208 students in 2018 compared to 227 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 14.2:1 in 2018 to 12.7:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.