Thomas Jefferson High School

Set in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Thomas Jefferson High School is a heavily attended secondary school, operated by Cedar Rapids Comm School District. It serves 1,501 students across grades 9 through 12. That puts it 221% bigger than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 468 students.

Across the 35 schools in Cedar Rapids Comm School District (15,494 students total), Thomas Jefferson High School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Thomas Jefferson High School lists that 49% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school lists 28% Black, 11% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. By comparison, Linn County as a whole is about 84% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Thomas Jefferson High School has 85 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.7:1. The state averages about 17.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 60% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Linn County (around 40%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Thomas Jefferson High School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 61.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 51.9%.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Linn County put median household earnings sit near $77,649, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Linn County runs 83 public schools (combined enrollment of about 36,480 students), of which Thomas Jefferson High School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Cleveland Elementary School, around 0.5 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Thomas Jefferson High School comes 4th of 9 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 50.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Thomas Jefferson High School has declined 5%, going from 1,575 students in 2018 to 1,501 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share shrank from 66% to 49%.

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