Moulton Elementary School

Moulton Elementary School is an elementary campus of middle-of-the-pack scale in Des Moines, Iowa, operated by Des Moines Independent Comm School District, caters to 465 students in grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 43% larger than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 325 students.

Des Moines Independent Comm School District runs 59 schools in total, collectively educating 29,676 students. Moulton Elementary School is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Moulton Elementary School logs that 52% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 30% Hispanic, 6% White, 6% Asian, 6% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 7% Black, putting the school's mix considerably more Black than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Moulton Elementary School logs 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.3:1. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 94% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Polk County (around 49%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Moulton Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 44.8%, the actual is 42.2%, a residual of -2.6 points.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Polk County put median household income runs about $83,576, about 40% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Polk County runs 137 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students), of which Moulton Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is Jessie Franklin Taylor, roughly 0.6 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Moulton Elementary School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Moulton Elementary School at 3rd of 8; the average score across the group is 40.7%.

Moulton Elementary School operates from a high-density location.

Five-year trend. Moulton Elementary School's enrollment has fell 8% since 2018, when it stood at 504 (now 465). Over the same period, the Black share rose from 42% to 52%. Class-load math has loosened: from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 14.3:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.