Enrollment
212
Elementary
DISTRICT 252 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BURLINGTON COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190579000187
James Wilson Grimes School
800 South St., Burlington, IA 52601 · (319) 753-0420 · Des Moines County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL212 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 3% of Iowa public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Iowa public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.5:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
128 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 42 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 34 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 34 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 24% |
| Grade 4 | 52 | 25% |
This year's kindergarten class (42) is 19% smaller than its 4th grade class (52).
Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 48% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
James Wilson Grimes School→Aldo Leopold Intermediate School→Edward Stone Middle School→Burlington Community High School
Based on grade levels within Burlington Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
49.4%
IA avg 73.6% . +13.5pp since 2023
Math
48.4%
IA avg 70.9% . +4.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 48 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 14 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 49.4% | 48.4% |
| 2023-24 | 35.9% | 44.4% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
44.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.7%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 62% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like James Wilson Grimes School
James Wilson Grimes School's state test result (44.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Wilson Grimes School this school | 212 | 60.4% | 44.5% |
| North Hill Elementary School Burlington | 268 | 60.8% | 64.1% |
| Black Hawk Elementary School Burlington | 305 | 53.8% | 60.5% |
| Sunnyside Elementary School Burlington | 298 | 56.0% | 74.7% |
| Grant Wood Elementary School Cedar Rapids | 356 | 62.4% | 63.3% |
| Harrison Elementary School Cedar Rapids | 277 | 65.7% | 45.5% |
Matched among Iowa elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where James Wilson Grimes School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Des Moines County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.5% | #532 of 564 | #7 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.4% | #528 of 564 ▲ 14 | #7 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.4% | #514 of 564 ▲ 36 | #7 of 7 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 212 | #541 of 705 | #7 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.5:1 | #66 of 561 | #3 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.0% | #130 of 561 | #2 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.4% | #123 of 666 | #2 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -42.4% | #10 of 359 | #1 of 6 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
212
-170 (-45%) vs 2020
-2% since 1990-91, when it was 216
Student : Teacher
11.5:1
was 17.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 212 | 18.5 | 11.5:1 | 60% (128) |
| 2023-24 | 247 | 22 | 11.2:1 | 76% (187) |
| 2022-23 | 269 | 25 | 10.8:1 | 75% (202) |
| 2020-21 | 382 | 22 | 17.4:1 | 73% (277) |
| 2017-18 | 368 | 24 | 15.4:1 | 69% (255) |
| 2015-16 | 421 | 29 | 14.5:1 | 73% (306) |
| 2010-11 | 399 | 31 | 12.9:1 | 70% (281) |
| 2000-01 | 140 | 13 | 10.8:1 | 77% (108) |
| 1990-91 | 216 | 14 | 15.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James Wilson Grimes School.
Since 2017-18: students down 42% (368 to 212); teachers down 23% (24 to 18.5).
About James Wilson Grimes School
James Wilson Grimes School is an elementary school located in Burlington, Iowa, in Des Moines County. There are 212 students enrolled, covering kindergarten through 4. That puts enrollment 35% below the 325-student average for elementary schools in Iowa.
Burlington Comm School District has 8 schools and 3,140 students, and James Wilson Grimes School is one of those schools.
White students are 57% of those enrolled at James Wilson Grimes School. Next come 21% Black, 14% multiracial, and 9% Hispanic. That compares with about 86% White among all Des Moines County residents. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 61%.
Teacher count: 18.5 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 11.5:1. Across elementary schools in Iowa, the average ratio is 13.7:1. Roughly 60% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 45% average for public schools in Des Moines County, the school's rate is higher.
Among Iowa public elementary schools, James Wilson Grimes School outscored 3%, which works out to an F on the allk12 Grade.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, James Wilson Grimes School ranks in the bottom 10% of Iowa schools. It scores 44.5%; the prediction is 61.7%.
For the population of Des Moines County, median household income comes to about $62,928, roughly 24% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Des Moines County counts 15 public schools with about 5,632 students.
James Wilson Grimes School is about 0.8 miles from Corse Early Childhood Center, its nearest public school. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, James Wilson Grimes School ranks 8th on average proficiency.
The school's federal locale classification is Town: Remote.
James Wilson Grimes School had 382 students in 2020-21 and 212 in 2024-25, according to federal records. Those counts may cover different grade spans. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 17.4:1 to 11.5:1.
This page is set up for the James Wilson Grimes School community to discuss special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Des Moines County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
38,487
Census ACS
Median income
$62,928
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
15
5,632 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Burlington Comm School District
- Burlington Community High SchoolHigh · 1,016 students
- Edward Stone Middle SchoolMiddle · 452 students
- Aldo Leopold Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 412 students
- Black Hawk Elementary SchoolElementary · 305 students
- Sunnyside Elementary SchoolElementary · 298 students
- North Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 268 students
Other schools in Burlington
- Burlington Community High SchoolHigh · 1,016 students
- Edward Stone Middle SchoolMiddle · 452 students
- Aldo Leopold Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 412 students
- Black Hawk Elementary SchoolElementary · 305 students
- Sunnyside Elementary SchoolElementary · 298 students
- North Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 268 students
Nearby schools
- Corse Early Childhood Center0.8 mi · 177
- North Hill Elementary School1.4 mi · 268
- Black Hawk Elementary School1.4 mi · 305
- Edward Stone Middle School1.5 mi · 452
- Burlington Community High School1.6 mi · 1,016
- Sunnyside Elementary School2.5 mi · 298
Frequently asked questions
About James Wilson Grimes SchoolHow many students attend James Wilson Grimes School?
James Wilson Grimes School enrolls approximately 212 students in grades KG-04.
Is James Wilson Grimes School an elementary, middle, or high school?
James Wilson Grimes School is an elementary school covering grades KG-04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at James Wilson Grimes School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at James Wilson Grimes School is approximately 11.5:1 (19 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at James Wilson Grimes School?
At James Wilson Grimes School, the student body is approximately 57% White, 9% Hispanic, 21% Black, 14% Two or more.
Is James Wilson Grimes School public or private?
James Wilson Grimes School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Burlington Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.