McCombs Middle School

McCombs Middle School is one of the big middle schools in Des Moines, Iowa, run under Des Moines Independent Comm School District, with 670 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. That puts it 68% bigger than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 400 students.

Within Des Moines Independent Comm School District, which oversees 59 schools and 29,676 students, McCombs Middle School is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, McCombs Middle School reports that 39% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder consists of 25% White, 23% Black, 7% Asian, 6% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 10% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.2:1, putting McCombs Middle School higher than the state norm the norm. Around 83% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is higher than Polk County's rate of about 49%.

After controlling for student poverty, McCombs Middle School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 50.3%, the actual is 54.0%, a residual of +3.7 points.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Polk County indicate the typical household earns roughly $83,576 per year, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across Polk County's 137 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students), McCombs Middle School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Studebaker Elementary School, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts McCombs Middle School at 2nd of 8; the average score across the group is 49.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at McCombs Middle School has edged down 9%, going from 733 students in 2018 to 670 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 42% to 25%. Class-load math has grew: from 15.5:1 in 2018 to 16.8:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.