Hoover Elementary School

Set in West Branch, Iowa, Hoover Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary campus, part of West Branch Comm School District. It caters to 353 students across grades pre-K through 4.

Across the 4 schools in West Branch Comm School District (880 students total), Hoover Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Hoover Elementary School reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (86%). Other groups include 8% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 94%.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 13.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 20% of students at Hoover Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Hoover Elementary School is in the bottom 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 82.0%; Hoover Elementary School posts 68.8%, -13.3 points below that line.

Across the wider county, Cedar County reports that the typical household earns roughly $80,602 per year, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. In all, Cedar County runs 13 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,030 students), of which Hoover Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: West Branch Community Early Learning Center, around 0.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 3 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Hoover Elementary School ranks 6th on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 67.4%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Hoover Elementary School has held roughly steady, going from 361 students in 2018 to 353 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.