Orient Elementary School

Orient Elementary School is one of the micro-enrollment elementary schools in Orient, Iowa, part of Orient-Macksburg Comm School District, with 58 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 325 students per school, that is 82% smaller than typical.

Orient-Macksburg Comm School District comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 108 students; Orient Elementary School is among them.

In terms of who attends, Orient Elementary School shows that 91% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest consists of 9% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Orient Elementary School has 7 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 8.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.7:1, putting Orient Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. About 52% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Adair County's rate of about 43%.

Zooming out to the county, Adair County reports that median household income runs about $68,092, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. Across Adair County's 5 public schools (combined enrollment of about 744 students), Orient Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Orient-Macksburg Senior High School, roughly 0.0 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint.

The school occupies a countryside site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 36%: 91 students in 2018 compared to 58 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share climbed from 4% to 9%. Class-load math has tightened: from 11.0:1 in 2018 to 8.4:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, members of the Orient Elementary School community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.