Storm Lake Elementary

Storm Lake Elementary, a large elementary school in Storm Lake, Iowa, part of Storm Lake Comm School District, works with 822 students, covering grades 2 through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 153% larger than the state mean of about 325.

Within Storm Lake Comm School District, which oversees 6 schools and 2,933 students, Storm Lake Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Storm Lake Elementary records that 55% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. The remainder breaks down as 14% Asian, 13% Pacific Islander, 10% White, 5% Black. By comparison, Buena Vista County as a whole is about 29% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school currently runs with 50 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.3:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. Around 75% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Buena Vista County (around 60%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Storm Lake Elementary is in the bottom 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 54.2%; Storm Lake Elementary posts 41.5%, -12.7 points below that line.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Buena Vista County indicate median household income runs about $71,719, roughly 22% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Storm Lake Elementary is one of 15 public schools in Buena Vista County (combined enrollment of about 4,691 students).

Storm Lake Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 7 other public schools cluster around Storm Lake Elementary. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Storm Lake Elementary ranks 6th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 66.2%.

The school occupies a town-based site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 8%: 896 students in 2018 compared to 822 in 2025. The Asian share of enrollment declined from 19% to 14% over that span.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.