Prairie Crest Elementary

Prairie Crest Elementary operates as a middle-of-the-pack elementary school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, run under College Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 434 students spanning grades pre-K through 4. Compared to the state average of about 325 students per school, that is 34% above typical.

Within College Comm School District, which oversees 10 schools and 5,792 students, Prairie Crest Elementary is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Prairie Crest Elementary reports that the largest single group is White, at 61% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school reports 19% Black, 9% multiracial, 6% Hispanic, 4% Asian. By comparison, Linn County as a whole is about 84% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Prairie Crest Elementary has 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.9:1. The state averages about 13.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 44% of students at Prairie Crest Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

After controlling for student poverty, Prairie Crest Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 70.2%; this one delivers 69.1%.

In the broader community, census data for Linn County shows median household earnings sit near $77,649, about 35% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Linn County's 83 public schools (combined enrollment of about 36,480 students), Prairie Crest Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Prairie View Elementary School, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Prairie Crest Elementary comes 5th of 8 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 73.7%.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Prairie Crest Elementary's enrollment has fell 4% since 2018, when it stood at 451 (now 434). White enrollment moved from 82% to 61% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 15.0:1 in 2018 to 13.9:1 today.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.