Prairie Hill Elementary School

Prairie Hill Elementary School is a moderately sized elementary campus in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, overseen by College Comm School District. The school serves 466 students in grades pre-K through 4. By comparison, Iowa's public schools average about 325 students each, so Prairie Hill Elementary School sits 43% above that benchmark.

Across the 10 schools in College Comm School District (5,792 students total), Prairie Hill Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Prairie Hill Elementary School lists that the largest single group is White, at 64% of enrollment; the rest reads as 19% Black, 8% Hispanic, 7% multiracial. By comparison, Linn County as a whole is about 84% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Prairie Hill Elementary School lists 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.8:1. The state averages about 13.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 35% of students at Prairie Hill Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

After controlling for student poverty, Prairie Hill Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 74.3%; this one delivers 79.6%.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Linn County) records that median household income runs about $77,649, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Linn County runs 83 public schools (combined enrollment of about 36,480 students), of which Prairie Hill Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Prairie Early Childhood Center, around 0.1 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Prairie Hill Elementary School comes 3rd of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 72.2%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 7%: 499 students in 2018 compared to 466 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 81% to 64%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 15.2:1 in 2018 to 13.8:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.