GMG Secondary School

GMG Secondary School is a 9-12 campus of modestly sized scale in Garwin, Iowa, part of GMG Comm School District, enrolling 205 students in grades 7 through 12. That puts it 56% smaller than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 468 students.

GMG Secondary School is one of 2 schools operated by GMG Comm School District, a district that works with 476 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, GMG Secondary School shows that the student body is overwhelmingly White (88%); the rest breaks down as 5% Hispanic, 3% Black, 3% multiracial. That is meaningfully more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 80%.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.9:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.3:1, putting GMG Secondary School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 51% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, GMG Secondary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 66.3%, the actual is 63.8%, a residual of -2.6 points.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Tama County indicate median household earnings sit near $70,781, roughly 21% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. GMG Secondary School is one of 10 public schools in Tama County (combined enrollment of about 2,770 students).

Gladbrook-Reinbeck Preschool is the nearest neighboring public school, about 6.5 miles from this campus. Within ten miles, there are 7 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts GMG Secondary School at 3rd of 6; the average score across the group is 63.7%.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Five-year trend. GMG Secondary School's enrollment has decreased 10% since 2018, when it stood at 229 (now 205). The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 13.1:1 in 2018 to 10.9:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.