Hawarden Elementary School

Hawarden Elementary School is a compact K-5 school in Hawarden, Iowa, part of West Sioux Comm School District. The school serves 193 students in grades 2 through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 41% below the state mean of about 325.

Hawarden Elementary School is one of 4 schools operated by West Sioux Comm School District, a district that serves 708 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Hawarden Elementary School records that 49% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest comes out to 47% Hispanic. By comparison, Sioux County as a whole is about 85% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 9.6:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. Around 64% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Sioux County runs at roughly 45%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Hawarden Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 60.1%; Hawarden Elementary School posts 73.2%, +13.2 points above that line.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Sioux County) reports that median household earnings sit near $86,098, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. Hawarden Elementary School is one of 19 public schools in Sioux County (combined enrollment of about 5,321 students).

West Sioux Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Hawarden Elementary School at 2nd of 6; the average score across the group is 59.7%.

Hawarden Elementary School operates from an outlying location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Hawarden Elementary School has contracted 19%, going from 239 students in 2018 to 193 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share shrank from 60% to 49%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 14.5:1 in 2018 to 9.6:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.