Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Cherokee, Iowa - 3 schools
An equity score of 35/100 ranks Cherokee Comm School District #224 of 303 districts in Iowa (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,834 per pupil, Cherokee Comm School District ranks #308 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending (Iowa districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,200
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$10,834
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cherokee Comm School District operates 3 public schools serving 1,200 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Iowa. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 high, 1 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Cherokee County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,834 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 33 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending. See how Iowa compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 39.5% local, 50.5% state, and 10.0% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 35/100, ranked #224 of 303 in Iowa against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 438.9:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 16.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 82.5% White, 11.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Washington High School, with a diversity index of 32.0/100.
Its largest campus is Cherokee Elementary School, enrolling 468 students (40% of the district's total enrollment).
Cherokee Elementary School accounts for 39.0% of all Cherokee Comm School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Cherokee Comm School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Cherokee Comm School District student-counselor ratio is 439:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Cherokee Comm School District chronic absenteeism rate is 16.7% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Cherokee Comm School District is typically wider than the Cherokee Comm School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Cherokee Comm School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Iowa
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Cherokee Comm School District?
Cherokee Comm School District has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,200 students.
How much does Cherokee Comm School District spend per student?
Cherokee Comm School District spends $10,834 per student. The district has an equity score of 35/100, ranking #224 in Iowa.
What is the demographic composition of Cherokee Comm School District?
Cherokee Comm School District students are 82.5% White, 11.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% Asian, 0.5% African American, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Cherokee Comm School District?
Cherokee Comm School District has an equity score of 35/100, ranking #224 out of 303 districts in Iowa.