West Elementary School

As an average-sized elementary campus in Glenwood, Iowa, West Elementary School enrolls 440 students from grades 3 through 5, part of Glenwood Comm School District. That puts it 35% bigger than the typical public school in Iowa, which averages around 325 students.

Across the 4 schools in Glenwood Comm School District (2,001 students total), West Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, West Elementary School shows that nearly all students (91%) are White; the rest consists of 5% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the resource side, The school reports having 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.8:1. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 47% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, West Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of Iowa public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 68.6%; West Elementary School posts 80.6%, +12.0 points above that line.

Across the wider county, census data for Mills County shows median household income runs about $90,753, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Mills County's 6 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,449 students), West Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Northeast Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. 3 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, West Elementary School comes 2nd of 7 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 68.3%.

The school occupies a town-center site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count changed only slightly: 435 students in 2018 compared to 440 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.