Salem Elementary School

Located at 412 E. Jackson St., in Salem, Iowa, Salem Elementary School is an one-room-style K-5 school that caters to 86 students (grades K through 5), part of Mount Pleasant Comm School District. That puts it 74% below the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 325 students.

Salem Elementary School is one of 8 schools operated by Mount Pleasant Comm School District, a district that serves 2,011 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Salem Elementary School records that 94% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest consists of 2% Black, 2% multiracial.

In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 7 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.9:1. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 36% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

With demographic context factored in, Salem Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 73.9%; Salem Elementary School posts 91.6%, +17.7 points above that line.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Henry County put the typical household earns roughly $67,436 per year, roughly 23% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Salem Elementary School is one of 13 public schools in Henry County (combined enrollment of about 3,230 students).

Mount Pleasant High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 7.5 miles from this campus. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Salem Elementary School at 1st of 7; the average score across the group is 65.1%.

Salem Elementary School operates from an outlying location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 32%: 126 students in 2018 compared to 86 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 16.1:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.