Jessie Franklin Taylor

Jessie Franklin Taylor is a cozy primary school in Des Moines, Iowa, operated by Des Moines Independent Comm School District. The school caters to 195 students in grade pre-K. By comparison, Iowa's public schools average about 325 students each, so Jessie Franklin Taylor sits 40% smaller than that benchmark.

Across the 59 schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District (29,676 students total), Jessie Franklin Taylor accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Jessie Franklin Taylor reports that the most-represented group is Black (39%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 28% Hispanic, 19% White, 7% multiracial, 5% Asian. That is meaningfully more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 7%.

On the resource side, On paper, Jessie Franklin Taylor has 11 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.1:1. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 88% of students at Jessie Franklin Taylor qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Polk County runs at roughly 49%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

In the broader community, census data for Polk County shows median household earnings sit near $83,576, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Jessie Franklin Taylor is one of 137 public schools in Polk County (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students).

Nearest neighbor: King Elementary School, around 0.5 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Jessie Franklin Taylor has shrank 22%, going from 249 students in 2018 to 195 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 21.5:1 in 2018 to 17.1:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the feed for Jessie Franklin Taylor typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.