West Monona Elementary

West Monona Elementary operates as a moderately sized elementary-level community in Onawa, Iowa, one of the schools within West Monona Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 352 students spanning grades pre-K through 5.

West Monona Elementary is one of 3 schools operated by West Monona Comm School District, a district that works with 633 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, West Monona Elementary logs that 84% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 7% Native American, 4% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 93% White, putting the school's mix meaningfully less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, West Monona Elementary shows 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.5:1. The state averages about 13.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 44% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, West Monona Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 69.8%; this one delivers 68.9%.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Monona County put median household income runs about $68,377, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. West Monona Elementary is one of 7 public schools in Monona County (combined enrollment of about 1,210 students).

The closest other public school is West Monona High School, roughly 1.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around West Monona Elementary. On composite proficiency, West Monona Elementary comes 5th of 6 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 72.6%.

The school occupies an outlying site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count rose 26%: 279 students in 2018 compared to 352 in 2025. The White share of enrollment ticked down from 90% to 84% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 11.7:1 in 2018 to 13.5:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for West Monona Elementary typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.