Ottumwa High School

Ottumwa High School operates as a high-enrollment secondary school in Ottumwa, Iowa, operated by Ottumwa Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 910 students spanning grades 10 through 12. That puts it 94% above the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 468 students.

Across the 12 schools in Ottumwa Comm School District (5,005 students total), Ottumwa High School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Ottumwa High School shows that the largest single group is White at 48%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest looks like 32% Hispanic, 10% Black, 6% Pacific Islander, 2% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 79% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Ottumwa High School has 55 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.6:1. The state averages around 17.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 37% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is lower than Wapello County's rate of about 48%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Ottumwa High School is in the bottom 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 73.3%; Ottumwa High School posts 58.9%, -14.4 points below that line.

In the area at large, census data for Wapello County shows median household income runs about $64,766, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. In all, Wapello County runs 18 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,892 students), of which Ottumwa High School is one.

The closest other public school is Wilson Elementary School, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Ottumwa High School. On composite proficiency, Ottumwa High School comes 2nd of 6 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 47.4%.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Ottumwa High School has contracted 29%, going from 1,275 students in 2018 to 910 in 2025. The White share of enrollment shrank from 65% to 48% over that span. Class-load math has tightened: from 17.8:1 in 2018 to 16.6:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the Ottumwa High School community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.