Lou Henry Elementary School

Lou Henry Elementary School, a moderately sized elementary-level community in Waterloo, Iowa, overseen by Waterloo Comm School District, teaches 460 students, covering grades K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 42% larger than the state mean of about 325.

Within Waterloo Comm School District, which oversees 18 schools and 10,484 students, Lou Henry Elementary School is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Lou Henry Elementary School records that the largest single group is White at 39%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school logs 38% Black, 8% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 7% multiracial. By comparison, Black Hawk County as a whole is about 80% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Lou Henry Elementary School reports 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.1:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. About 66% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Black Hawk County (around 52%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Lou Henry Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 59.0% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 62.3%.

In the area at large, census data for Black Hawk County shows median household earnings sit near $66,417, about 30% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. Lou Henry Elementary School is one of 35 public schools in Black Hawk County (combined enrollment of about 18,224 students).

Nearest neighbor: Hoover Middle School, around 0.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Lou Henry Elementary School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Lou Henry Elementary School at 4th of 9; the average score across the group is 63.8%.

The school occupies an urban site.

Five-year trend. Lou Henry Elementary School's enrollment has fell 4% since 2018, when it stood at 481 (now 460). White enrollment moved from 55% to 39% across the same window.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.