Spirit Lake Elementary School

Spirit Lake Elementary School is an expansive elementary-level community in Spirit Lake, Iowa, run under Spirit Lake Comm School District. The school teaches 547 students in grades pre-K through 4. By comparison, Iowa's public schools average about 325 students each, so Spirit Lake Elementary School sits 68% above that benchmark.

Within Spirit Lake Comm School District, which oversees 3 schools and 1,319 students, Spirit Lake Elementary School is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Spirit Lake Elementary School records that nearly all students (87%) are White. Beyond that, the school reports 6% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, 2% Black.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school reports having 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.4:1. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 28% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

With demographic context factored in, Spirit Lake Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 78.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 85.3%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Dickinson County) logs that median household income runs about $75,432, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Dickinson County's 9 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,005 students), Spirit Lake Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Spirit Lake Middle School, around 0.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Spirit Lake Elementary School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Spirit Lake Elementary School at 1st of 8; the average score across the group is 75.9%.

The school occupies a town-center site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count rose 5%: 519 students in 2018 compared to 547 in 2025. The White share of enrollment shrank from 92% to 87% over that span. Class-load math has tightened: from 15.6:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 in 2025.

On this page, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.