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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Monroe Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
341
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897000563
Monroe Elementary School
2250 30th St, Des Moines, IA 50310 · (515) 242-8425 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL341 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
90%
308 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 45 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 50 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 65 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 66 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 56 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 59 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (45) is 24% smaller than its 5th grade class (59).
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · STATE 48% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
39.0%
IA avg 73.6% . +5.7pp since 2023
Math
47.0%
IA avg 70.9% . +6.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 39.0% | 47.0% |
| 2023-24 | 33.3% | 40.4% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
37.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.8%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Iowa's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Monroe Elementary School
Monroe Elementary School's state test result (37.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe Elementary School this school | 341 | 90.3% | 37.5% |
| King Elementary School Des Moines | 315 | 96.2% | 29.9% |
| Lovejoy Elementary School Des Moines | 394 | 89.3% | 39.3% |
| Moulton Elementary School Des Moines | 465 | 94.2% | 42.2% |
| Jessie Franklin Taylor Des Moines | 195 | 88.2% | N/A |
| Findley Elementary School Des Moines | 324 | 85.2% | 43.9% |
Matched among Iowa elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Monroe Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.5% | #556 of 564 | #75 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #535 of 564 ▲ 16 | #65 of 78 ▲ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #556 of 564 ▲ 3 | #75 of 78 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 341 | #307 of 705 | #60 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.4:1 | #58 of 561 | #5 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.7% | #62 of 561 | #25 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 90.3% | #10 of 666 | #7 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -33.5% | #19 of 359 | #1 of 64 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
341
-104 (-23%) vs 2020
-1% since 1990-91, when it was 345
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
was 10.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 341 | 30 | 11.4:1 | 90% (308) |
| 2023-24 | 377 | 34.7 | 10.9:1 | 89% (335) |
| 2022-23 | 423 | 35 | 12.1:1 | 95% (400) |
| 2020-21 | 445 | 41 | 10.8:1 | 93% (415) |
| 2017-18 | 513 | 46.7 | 11.0:1 | 93% (479) |
| 2015-16 | 535 | 46 | 11.6:1 | 90% (484) |
| 2010-11 | 501 | 40 | 12.5:1 | 85% (427) |
| 2000-01 | 469 | 39 | 12.0:1 | 47% (222) |
| 1990-91 | 345 | 21 | 16.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Monroe Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 34% (513 to 341); teachers down 36% (46.7 to 30).
About Monroe Elementary School
Monroe Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school. Its address is in Des Moines, Iowa. The school's enrollment of 341 students covers kindergarten through 5.
Enrollment across the 59 schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District totals 29,676 students.
The most common group at Monroe Elementary School is Black students, at 47%. Other groups make up 25% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 11% White, and 4% multiracial. Polk County as a whole is about 7% Black, so the school's share is higher. The school's diversity index is 69%, meaning two students picked at random have a 69% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school employs the equivalent of 30 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 11.4:1. That is 2.4 students per teacher below the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Iowa. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Monroe Elementary School is 90%. Public schools in Polk County average 49%.
Compared with Iowa schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Monroe Elementary School's results are 9.2 points below predicted: 37.5% against 46.8%.
Polk County census figures show that the median household income is $83,576, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. There are 137 public schools in Polk County, enrolling about 77,436 students in all.
The nearest public school is Perkins Elementary School, at about 1.0 miles. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Nearby schools with test data average 48.1% proficiency; Monroe Elementary School posts 37.5%.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Mid-size, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Monroe Elementary School's enrollment dropped from 445 in 2020-21 to 341 in 2024-25.
To ask about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes, start a discussion on this page. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,364 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
Other schools in Des Moines
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,364 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
Other Monroe Elementary schools
35 other US public schools in 18 states are named Monroe Elementary. Monroe Elementary School is the 21st largest of the 36.
- Monroe Elementary SchoolMonroe, IA · 257 students
- Monroe Elementary SchoolMonroe, OH · 1,166 students
- Monroe ElementaryHanford, CA · 611 students
- Monroe ElementaryMonroe, GA · 605 students
- Monroe ElementaryRiverside, CA · 596 students
Nearby schools
- Perkins Elementary School1.0 mi · 438
- Jessie Franklin Taylor1.1 mi · 195
- King Elementary School1.1 mi · 315
- Horizon Science Academy Des Moines1.3 mi · 150
- Woodlawn Early Childhood Center1.4 mi · 216
- Callanan Middle School1.6 mi · 553
Frequently asked questions
About Monroe Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Monroe Elementary School?
Monroe Elementary School enrolls approximately 341 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Monroe Elementary School serve?
Monroe Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Monroe Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Monroe Elementary School is approximately 11.4:1 (30 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Monroe Elementary School?
At Monroe Elementary School, the student body is approximately 11% White, 25% Hispanic, 47% Black, 13% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Monroe Elementary School public or private?
Monroe Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.