Enrollment
260
Elementary
DISTRICT 441 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTHEAST POLK COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192682001571
Runnells Elementary
6575 SE 116th Street, Runnells, IA 50237 · (515) 966-2068 · Polk County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL260 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.7:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
27%
70 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 19 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 46 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 37 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 39 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 29 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 40 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (46) is 15% larger than its 5th grade class (40).
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 48% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Runnells Elementary→Southeast Polk Middle School→Southeast Polk Junior High→Southeast Polk High School
Based on grade levels within Southeast Polk Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
91.2%
IA avg 73.6% . +4.6pp since 2023
Math
96.5%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 91 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 97 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 91.2% | 96.5% |
| 2023-24 | 86.6% | 92.9% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
89.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
78.5%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 90% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 78% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 11 points, placing it in Iowa's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Runnells Elementary
Runnells Elementary's state test result (89.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runnells Elementary this school | 260 | 26.9% | 89.8% |
| Prairie City Elementary School Prairie City | 240 | 27.5% | 73.1% |
| Bertha Godfrey Elementary School Algona | 283 | 29.7% | N/A |
| Prairie West Elementary Waverly | 252 | 23.4% | N/A |
| Highland Elementary School Riverside | 242 | 25.2% | 57.0% |
| Monroe Elementary School Monroe | 257 | 25.3% | 50.0% |
Matched among Iowa elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Runnells Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 89.8% | #12 of 564 | #2 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 96.5% | #4 of 564 ▲ 8 | #1 of 78 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 91.2% | #16 of 564 ▲ 16 | #1 of 78 ▲ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 260 | #460 of 705 | #77 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.6:1 | #419 of 561 | #57 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.1% | #336 of 561 | #79 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 26.9% | #538 of 666 | #68 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.7% | #314 of 359 | #56 of 64 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
260
-32 (-11%) vs 2020
+67% since 1990-91, when it was 156
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
was 17.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 260 | 17.8 | 14.6:1 | 27% (70) |
| 2023-24 | 276 | 16.2 | 17.0:1 | 34% (93) |
| 2022-23 | 269 | 17.3 | 15.6:1 | 28% (74) |
| 2020-21 | 292 | 17 | 17.2:1 | 26% (75) |
| 2017-18 | 270 | 16.5 | 16.4:1 | 20% (53) |
| 2015-16 | 284 | 16 | 17.8:1 | 24% (67) |
| 2010-11 | 222 | 16 | 13.9:1 | 26% (58) |
| 2000-01 | 162 | 11 | 14.7:1 | 12% (19) |
| 1990-91 | 156 | 9 | 17.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Runnells Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (270 to 260); teachers up 8% (16.5 to 17.8).
About Runnells Elementary
Runnells Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary school. Its address is in Runnells, Iowa. It is open to students in pre-K through 5 and enrolls 260 students.
Southeast Polk Comm School District is responsible for 10 schools, Runnells Elementary included, with 6,359 students in all.
A large majority of enrollment at Runnells Elementary is White, at 83%. Other reported shares: 8% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 3% Black. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 30%.
Runnells Elementary reported 17.8 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, a ratio of 14.6:1. The school's 14.6:1 compares with an average of 13.7:1 for elementary schools in Iowa. Roughly 27% of students at Runnells Elementary can receive free or reduced-price lunch. That is lower than the 49% average for public schools in Polk County.
Test results at Runnells Elementary are 11.3 points above what its student poverty level predicts. The average proficiency rate across its state test results is 89.8%, compared with a predicted 78.5%, which ranks in the top 10% in Iowa.
In Polk County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $83,576, about 40% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. The county has 137 public schools and about 77,436 students.
A public school about 4.7 miles away, Hartford Upper Elementary, is the closest to Runnells Elementary. Inside a ten-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. The school's 89.8% average proficiency ranks 1st among 9 nearby schools.
Locale data from NCES put Runnells Elementary in rural territory some distance from an urban area (Rural: Distant).
Enrollment figures show a drop of 32 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Its ratio of students to teachers was 17.2:1 in 2020-21, and 14.6:1 in 2024-25.
The discussion board for Runnells Elementary is open to topics like pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Southeast Polk Comm School District
- Southeast Polk High SchoolHigh · 1,722 students
- Southeast Polk Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,112 students
- Clay ElementaryElementary · 700 students
- Willowbrook ElementaryElementary · 523 students
- Four Mile ElementaryElementary · 495 students
- Delaware ElementaryElementary · 440 students
Nearby schools
- Hartford Upper Elementary4.7 mi · 303
- Southeast Polk High School7.0 mi · 1,722
- Carlisle Elementary School7.0 mi · 715
- Carlisle High School7.0 mi · 754
- Four Mile Elementary7.3 mi · 495
- Carlisle Middle School7.7 mi · 518
Frequently asked questions
About Runnells ElementaryHow large is Runnells Elementary?
Runnells Elementary enrolls approximately 260 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Runnells Elementary serve?
Runnells Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Runnells Elementary have?
Runnells Elementary employs 18 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.6:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Runnells Elementary?
At Runnells Elementary, the student body is approximately 83% White, 8% Hispanic, 3% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Runnells Elementary?
Runnells Elementary is overseen by Southeast Polk Comm School District in Polk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.