Enrollment
247
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897000585
Willard Elementary School
2941 Dean Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50317 · (515) 242-8439 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL247 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.4:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
89%
219 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 37 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 41 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 44 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 43 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 39 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 43 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (37) is 14% smaller than its 5th grade class (43).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · STATE 48% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
54.7%
IA avg 73.6% . +6.3pp since 2023
Math
65.0%
IA avg 70.9% . +9.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 54.7% | 65.0% |
| 2023-24 | 48.4% | 55.7% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
52.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.6%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Iowa's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Willard Elementary School
Willard Elementary School's state test result (52.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willard Elementary School this school | 247 | 88.7% | 52.1% |
| McKinley Elementary School Des Moines | 275 | 86.9% | 46.4% |
| Stowe Elementary School Des Moines | 297 | 84.2% | 33.8% |
| Rogers Elementary School Marshalltown | 253 | 86.2% | 49.4% |
| Howe Elementary Des Moines | 297 | 90.9% | 42.9% |
| Wright Elementary School Des Moines | 265 | 77.7% | 48.5% |
Matched among Iowa elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Willard Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 52.1% | #492 of 564 | #50 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 65.0% | #446 of 564 ▲ 49 | #46 of 78 ▲ 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.7% | #483 of 564 ▲ 22 | #50 of 78 ▲ 5 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 247 | #484 of 705 | #82 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.4:1 | #15 of 561 | #2 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.7% | #92 of 561 | #32 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 88.7% | #16 of 666 | #11 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -31.8% | #25 of 359 | #3 of 64 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
247
-47 (-16%) vs 2020
-45% since 1990-91, when it was 452
Student : Teacher
10.4:1
was 10.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 247 | 23.8 | 10.4:1 | 89% (219) |
| 2023-24 | 282 | 24.8 | 11.4:1 | 82% (231) |
| 2022-23 | 286 | 24.1 | 11.9:1 | 90% (258) |
| 2020-21 | 294 | 28 | 10.5:1 | 95% (278) |
| 2017-18 | 362 | 29.9 | 12.1:1 | 88% (319) |
| 2015-16 | 410 | 35 | 11.7:1 | 90% (370) |
| 2010-11 | 496 | 36 | 13.8:1 | 82% (407) |
| 2000-01 | 462 | 37 | 12.5:1 | 75% (346) |
| 1990-91 | 452 | 33 | 13.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Willard Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 32% (362 to 247); teachers down 20% (29.9 to 23.8).
About Willard Elementary School
Willard Elementary School is a small elementary school in Des Moines, Iowa. Enrolled students number 247 students, in kindergarten through 5. Enrollment is 24% lower than the average for elementary schools in Iowa, which is about 325.
Des Moines Independent Comm School District counts 59 schools and 29,676 students, including Willard Elementary School.
Willard Elementary School has no majority group; Hispanic students are the largest, at 47%. Other students are 33% White, 10% Black, 5% Asian, and 5% multiracial. By comparison, Polk County residents are about 10% Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 66%, meaning two students picked at random have a 66% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Willard Elementary School employs 23.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 10.4:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Iowa. Willard Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 89%. The rate at public schools in Polk County averages 49%, lower than here.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Willard Elementary School is 4.5 points above the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 52.1% actual, 47.6% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Iowa.
Willard Elementary School is located in Polk County, where the median household income is $83,576, about 40% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Besides Willard Elementary School, Polk County has 136 other public schools.
The next-closest public school is Stowe Elementary School, about 1.1 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. On proficiency, Willard Elementary School is ahead of the 43.1% nearby average, ranking 2nd of 8.
Under the NCES locale system, Willard Elementary School is City: Mid-size.
Enrollment has fallen by 47 students since 2020-21, to 247.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Willard Elementary School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,364 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
Other schools in Des Moines
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,364 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
Other Willard Elementary schools
12 other US public schools in 9 states are named Willard Elementary. Willard Elementary School is the 11th largest of the 13.
- Willard Elementary SchoolWillard, OH · 558 students
- Willard ElementaryLong Beach, CA · 534 students
- Willard ElementaryNorfolk, VA · 441 students
- Willard Elementary SchoolRIDGEWOOD, NJ · 440 students
- Willard ElementaryPasadena, CA · 394 students
Nearby schools
- Stowe Elementary School1.1 mi · 297
- Phillips Elementary1.4 mi · 263
- Capitol View Elementary School1.8 mi · 533
- McKee Elementary School1.9 mi · 235
- Pleasant Hill Elementary School2.1 mi · 241
- Hiatt Middle School2.2 mi · 488
Frequently asked questions
About Willard Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Willard Elementary School?
Willard Elementary School enrolls approximately 247 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Willard Elementary School serve?
Willard Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Willard Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Willard Elementary School is approximately 10.4:1 (24 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Willard Elementary School?
At Willard Elementary School, the student body is approximately 33% White, 47% Hispanic, 10% Black, 5% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Willard Elementary School public or private?
Willard Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.