Sunnyside Elementary School

Sunnyside Elementary School is one of the medium-sized primary schools in Burlington, Iowa, operated by Burlington Comm School District, with 298 students on its rolls from grades K through 4.

Across the 8 schools in Burlington Comm School District (3,140 students total), Sunnyside Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Sunnyside Elementary School shows that the largest single group is White, at 62% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school lists 15% Black, 14% multiracial, 7% Hispanic. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 86%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.7:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 56% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Des Moines County runs at roughly 45%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Sunnyside Elementary School sits in the top 10% of Iowa schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 63.9%; actual is 74.7%, +10.8 points clear of the demographic baseline.

Around the school, Des Moines County reports that median household income runs about $62,928, roughly 24% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Des Moines County's 15 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,632 students), Sunnyside Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Aldo Leopold Intermediate School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.0 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Sunnyside Elementary School at 2nd of 8; the average score across the group is 57.3%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 31%: 434 students in 2018 compared to 298 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share shrank from 21% to 15%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 14.7:1 in 2018 to 10.7:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for Sunnyside Elementary School typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.