West Branch Middle School

As a close-knit middle school in West Branch, Iowa, West Branch Middle School serves 239 students from grades 5 through 8, one of the schools within West Branch Comm School District. Compared to the state average of about 400 students per school, that is 40% below typical.

West Branch Comm School District comprises 4 schools with combined enrollment of 880 students; West Branch Middle School is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, West Branch Middle School shows that the student body is overwhelmingly White (85%). Other groups include 10% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, 2% Black. The wider county runs roughly 94% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, On paper, West Branch Middle School has 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.2:1, putting West Branch Middle School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 22% of students at West Branch Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, West Branch Middle School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 81.1%, the actual is 75.5%, a residual of -5.5 points.

Around the school, census data for Cedar County shows median household income runs about $80,602, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. In all, Cedar County runs 13 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,030 students), of which West Branch Middle School is one.

Nearest neighbor: West Branch High School, around 0.0 miles off. Within five miles, there are 3 other public schools. On composite proficiency, West Branch Middle School comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 67.9%.

The school occupies a rural site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at West Branch Middle School has ticked up 5%, going from 227 students in 2018 to 239 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 89% to 85% across the same window.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.