Harding Middle School

Harding Middle School operates as an expansive intermediate school in Des Moines, Iowa, one of the schools within Des Moines Independent Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 603 students spanning grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 400 students per school, that is 51% above typical.

Des Moines Independent Comm School District runs 59 schools in total, collectively educating 29,676 students. Harding Middle School is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Harding Middle School lists that 34% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 30% Black, 16% White, 10% Asian, 9% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 10% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Harding Middle School has 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.8:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 89% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Polk County runs at roughly 49%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Harding Middle School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 47.6%, the actual is 39.9%, a residual of -7.8 points.

In the area at large, Polk County reports that median household income runs about $83,576, roughly 40% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Polk County's 137 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students), Harding Middle School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Great Oaks High School and Career Center, roughly 0.2 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Harding Middle School at 5th of 8; the average score across the group is 39.9%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 23%: 788 students in 2018 compared to 603 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment climbed from 24% to 30% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 14.3:1 in 2018 to 15.8:1 today.

On this page, the feed for Harding Middle School typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.