North High School

As an expansive senior high in Des Moines, Iowa, North High School hosts 1,428 students from grades 9 through 12, overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District. That puts it 205% larger than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 468 students.

Across the 59 schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District (29,676 students total), North High School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, North High School shows that 39% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder breaks down as 24% Black, 19% White, 11% Asian, 6% multiracial. That is meaningfully more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 10%.

In terms of school funding signals, North High School shows 66 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 21.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.3:1, putting North High School higher than the state norm the norm. About 84% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably above Polk County's rate of about 49%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, On a poverty-adjusted basis, North High School sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 50.0%; actual is 39.1%, a gap of -10.8 points.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Polk County put median household earnings sit near $83,576, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 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 North High School is one.

Findley Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, North High School comes 6th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 40.1%.

The school occupies an urban site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at North High School has expanded 8%, going from 1,319 students in 2018 to 1,428 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment climbed from 31% to 39% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 18.6:1 in 2018 to 21.5:1 today.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.