Other / mixed grade configuration · Council Bluffs, IA

Bloomer Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Bloomer Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 190822000411
0/100100/10043/100
👥 S:T ratio
49
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
21
📋 Attendance
34
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Bloomer Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Iowa median.

#8 of 10
schools in Council Bluffs · Resource Index
43
Resource Index · Typical
12.8:1
students per teacher
59.0%
free-lunch eligible

Bloomer Elementary School has class sizes near the Iowa median. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Bloomer Elementary School ranks #8 of 10 schools in Council Bluffs, IA.

Enrollment

396

Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

31.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.8:1

vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg

-14% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

59.0%

vs 36.4% Iowa avg

+62% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Bloomer Elementary School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Bloomer Elementary School

Bloomer Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Council Bluffs, Iowa, enrolling 396 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Iowa schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 59.0% of students qualify for free meals, 62% above the Iowa average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 396 puts it in the larger third of Iowa schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,322 scored Iowa schools.

Against 180 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #77.

Its student body is led by White (69%) and Hispanic or Latino (17%) (diversity index 48/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 396 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 16.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Council Bluffs's public schools, it stands alongside E a Kreft Primary School (502 students): Bloomer Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.8:1 vs 14.3:1).

Council Bluffs Comm School District also operates Abraham Lincoln High School (1,333 students) and Thomas Jefferson High School (1,146 students) alongside Bloomer Elementary School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Bloomer Elementary School compares

Bloomer Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Iowa Iowa avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.8:1 ▼ 14% 14.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 59.0% ▲ 62% 36.4% 51.7%
Enrollment 396 top 33% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
396
Bigger than 47% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
59.0%
free-lunch eligible - 62% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher - 14% below state mean
Top 33% in Iowa - lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
26.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,703
per pupil, district-wide - above Iowa avg of $12,854
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 396 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 69.4%
Hispanic or Latino 16.7%
African American 7.3%
Two or More 4.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.8%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%

Largest group: White at 69.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 48.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 48.3, Bloomer Elementary School is more mixed than the Iowa school average of 33.8.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Council Bluffs Comm School District, which includes Bloomer Elementary School.

$14,703
Per student
+14%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-11%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 30.2%
State 53.5%
Federal 16.3%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Bloomer Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Abraham Lincoln High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Thomas Jefferson High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Gerald W Kirn Middle School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Woodrow Wilson Middle School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
College View Elementary Similar size Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Bloomer Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Council Bluffs Comm School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Council Bluffs

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Iowa, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Bloomer Elementary School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Bloomer Elementary School

How many students attend Bloomer Elementary School?

Bloomer Elementary School has 396 students enrolled. It is a public school in Council Bluffs, IA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Bloomer Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Bloomer Elementary School is 12.8:1, which is 14% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bloomer Elementary School?

59.0% of students at Bloomer Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bloomer Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Bloomer Elementary School is White at 69.4% of enrollment, in Council Bluffs, IA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Bloomer Elementary School?

Bloomer Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Bloomer Elementary School rank among schools in Council Bluffs?

By Resource Investment Index, Bloomer Elementary School ranks #8 of 10 schools in Council Bluffs, IA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Council Bluffs on the city page.

Is Bloomer Elementary School a good school?

Bloomer Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Iowa median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Council Bluffs Comm School District?

Besides Bloomer Elementary School, Council Bluffs Comm School District also operates Abraham Lincoln High School (1,333 students), Thomas Jefferson High School (1,146 students), and Gerald W Kirn Middle School (913 students). See the Council Bluffs Comm School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.