Keota Elementary School

As a modestly sized elementary campus in Keota, Iowa, Keota Elementary School enrolls 165 students from grades pre-K through 6, run under Keota Comm School District. By comparison, Iowa's public schools average about 325 students each, so Keota Elementary School sits 49% below that benchmark.

Across the 2 schools in Keota Comm School District (279 students total), Keota Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Keota Elementary School reports that 95% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Beyond that, the school shows 5% Hispanic. Compared to Keokuk County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.3:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. Roughly 38% of students at Keota Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

After controlling for student poverty, Keota Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 73.2%, the actual is 70.2%, a residual of -3.0 points.

Around the school, Keokuk County reports that the typical household earns roughly $62,329 per year, about 17% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Across Keokuk County's 6 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,063 students), Keota Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Keota High School, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within ten miles, there are 4 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Keota Elementary School at 5th of 8; the average score across the group is 73.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Over the past 7-year window. Keota Elementary School's enrollment has contracted 20% since 2018, when it stood at 206 (now 165). Class-load math has tightened: from 13.5:1 in 2018 to 11.3:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Keota Elementary School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.