The Cougars Den

As a minimally staffed elementary-level community in Ackley, Iowa, The Cougars Den caters to 35 students from grades pre-K through K, one of the schools within AGWSR Comm School District. Compared to the state average of about 325 students per school, that is 89% below typical.

The Cougars Den is one of 5 schools operated by AGWSR Comm School District, a district that works with 642 students overall.

On the student-mix side, The Cougars Den lists that the student body is overwhelmingly White (89%); the rest consists of 11% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 2 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.5:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. Around 23% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Hardin County (around 38%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

Zooming out to the county, Hardin County reports that median household earnings sit near $65,069, about 22% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Hardin County runs 14 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,073 students), of which The Cougars Den is one.

AGWSR High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around The Cougars Den.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Looking at the recent track record. The Cougars Den's enrollment has fell 39% since 2018, when it stood at 57 (now 35). The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 28.5:1 in 2018 to 17.5:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.