North Tama Elementary

North Tama Elementary operates as a low-enrollment elementary-level community in Traer, Iowa, run under North Tama County Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 276 students spanning grades pre-K through 6.

Within North Tama County Comm School District, which oversees 2 schools and 479 students, North Tama Elementary is one campus in the system.

On demographics, North Tama Elementary logs that the student body is overwhelmingly White (94%). Beyond that, the school reports 3% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. That is visibly more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 80%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school reports having 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.8:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. Around 43% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is south of Tama County's rate of about 56%.

With demographic context factored in, North Tama Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 70.2%, the actual is 65.3%, a residual of -4.9 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Tama County) records that the typical household earns roughly $70,781 per year, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. Across Tama County's 10 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,770 students), North Tama Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is North Tama High School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within ten miles, there are 3 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. On composite proficiency, North Tama Elementary comes 3rd of 6 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 67.2%.

The school occupies a countryside site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at North Tama Elementary has rose 12%, going from 246 students in 2018 to 276 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share grew from 90% to 94%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 14.1:1 in 2018 to 12.8:1 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.