Enrollment
440
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 192682001568
Delaware Elementary — Des Moines, IA
Federal NCES profile for Delaware Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 12
📋 Attendance 52
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Southeast Polk Comm School District · Iowa
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.1:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.9%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Delaware Elementary compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Delaware Elementary reports 440 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 33.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% below the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 24% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 1% below the Iowa average and 31% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 440 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Southeast Polk Comm School District spends $17,121 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 37.9% from local sources (property taxes), 52.1% from the state, and 10.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Delaware Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.1:1 | ▼ 19% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.9% | ▼ 1% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 440 | top 73% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
35.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 1% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.1:1
students per teacher
— 19% below state mean
Top 19% in Iowa — lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
19.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$17,121
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 440 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 440 Top 73% in Iowa — larger than 27% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 33.0
Students per teacher 12.1:1 -19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.9% -1% vs state
NCES ID 192682001568
Student demographics
White 60.7%
African American 14.3%
Hispanic or Latino 13.0%
Two or More 5.9%
Asian 5.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 60.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 440:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southeast Polk Comm School District, which includes Delaware Elementary.
$17,121
Per student
-1%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-12%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 37.9%
State 52.1%
Federal 10.0%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,722
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Enrollment
- 1,112
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,088
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Enrollment
- 700
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 523
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
Similar other schools in Des Moines
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Cornell Elementary School
Standard public school
555 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
Clive Learning Academy
Standard public school
551 students 12.9:1 students per teacher
Capitol View Elementary School
Standard public school
533 students 11.7:1 students per teacher
Moulton Elementary School
Standard public school
465 students 12.7:1 students per teacher
Cowles Elementary School
Standard public school
392 students 18.6:1 students per teacher
Virtual Campus
Standard public school
380 students 17.6:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Delaware Elementary
How many students attend Delaware Elementary?
Delaware Elementary has 440 students enrolled. It is a other school in Des Moines, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Delaware Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Delaware Elementary is 12.1:1, which is 19% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 24% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Delaware Elementary?
35.9% of students at Delaware Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Delaware Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Delaware Elementary is White at 60.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Des Moines, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Delaware Elementary?
Delaware Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.