Liberty Intermediate School

Liberty Intermediate School is one of the large middle-grades schools in Ottumwa, Iowa, operated by Ottumwa Comm School District, with 633 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 7. That puts it 58% above the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 400 students.

Across the 12 schools in Ottumwa Comm School District (5,005 students total), Liberty Intermediate School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Liberty Intermediate School reports that the largest single group is White at 48%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school shows 26% Hispanic, 10% Pacific Islander, 10% Black, 4% Asian. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 79%.

On the resource side, On paper, Liberty Intermediate School has 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.9:1. The state averages around 15.2:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 48% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Liberty Intermediate School is in the bottom 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 67.7%; Liberty Intermediate School posts 50.2%, -17.5 points below that line.

In the area at large, Wapello County reports that median household income runs about $64,766, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. Liberty Intermediate School is one of 18 public schools in Wapello County (combined enrollment of about 6,892 students).

The closest other public school is Pickwick Early Childhood Center, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Liberty Intermediate School comes 3rd of 5 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 47.5%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Five-year trend. Liberty Intermediate School's enrollment has shrank 11% since 2018, when it stood at 715 (now 633). White enrollment moved from 64% to 48% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 15.0:1 in 2018 to 13.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Liberty Intermediate School community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.