Prairie Heights Elementary School

Prairie Heights Elementary School operates as a mid-sized primary school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, one of the schools within College Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 403 students spanning grades pre-K through 4. That puts it 24% larger than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 325 students.

College Comm School District comprises 10 schools with combined enrollment of 5,792 students; Prairie Heights Elementary School is among them.

Looking at the student body, Prairie Heights Elementary School reports that the largest single group is White, at 65% of enrollment; the rest is composed of 18% Black, 8% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. That is visibly less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 84%.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Prairie Heights Elementary School has 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.5:1. The state averages about 13.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 40% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Prairie Heights Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 71.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 67.5%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Linn County) shows that median household earnings sit near $77,649, about 35% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Prairie Heights Elementary School is one of 83 public schools in Linn County (combined enrollment of about 36,480 students).

Nearest neighbor: Prairie Hill Elementary School, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Prairie Heights Elementary School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Prairie Heights Elementary School ranks 7th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 73.9%.

The campus sits in a metropolitan setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Prairie Heights Elementary School's enrollment has shrank 12% since 2018, when it stood at 458 (now 403). Over the same period, the White share contracted from 75% to 65%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 14.8:1 in 2018 to 13.5:1 today.

On this page, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.