Summit Middle School

Summit Middle School is a middle-grades school of sizable scale in Johnston, Iowa, operated by Johnston Comm School District, educateing 1,118 students in grades 6 through 7. Enrollment runs roughly 180% above the state mean of about 400.

Johnston Comm School District runs 8 schools in total, collectively educating 7,339 students. Summit Middle School is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Summit Middle School reports that 67% of the student body identifies as White. Other groups include 11% Asian, 10% Black, 7% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 76% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Summit Middle School logs 73 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.4:1. The state averages about 15.2:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 26% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Polk County runs at roughly 49%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Summit Middle School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 78.9%, the actual is 81.9%, a residual of +3.0 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Polk County indicate the typical household earns roughly $83,576 per year, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Polk County's 137 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students), Summit Middle School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Horizon Elementary, roughly 0.2 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Summit Middle School at 2nd of 9; the average score across the group is 76.9%.

The school occupies a commuter-belt site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Summit Middle School has remained close to its prior level, going from 1,112 students in 2018 to 1,118 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 17.2:1 in 2018 to 15.4:1 today.

On the community side, members of the Summit Middle School community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.