Woodlawn Early Childhood Center

Woodlawn Early Childhood Center is an intimate elementary campus in Des Moines, Iowa, overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District. The school educates 216 students in grade pre-K. Compared to the state average of about 325 students per school, that is 34% leaner than typical.

Across the 59 schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District (29,676 students total), Woodlawn Early Childhood Center accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Woodlawn Early Childhood Center logs that the most-represented group is White (24%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest breaks down as 24% Asian, 20% Black, 19% Hispanic, 13% multiracial. By comparison, Polk County as a whole is about 76% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 11 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 18.9:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.7:1, putting Woodlawn Early Childhood Center higher than the state norm the norm. About 74% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is above Polk County's rate of about 49%.

In the broader community, Polk County reports that the typical household earns roughly $83,576 per year, about 40% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Polk County runs 137 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students), of which Woodlawn Early Childhood Center is one.

Samuelson Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Geographically, the school is in a city-core area.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 24%: 286 students in 2018 compared to 216 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 34% to 24% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 26.2:1 in 2018 to 18.9:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.