Enrollment
530
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Grimes, IA
Heritage Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Heritage Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 190852002242
👥 S:T ratio 27
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 82
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Heritage Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 90% of Iowa schools.
- #2 of 5
- public schools in Grimes · Resource Index
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 18.3:1
- large classes for Iowa
- 14.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Heritage Elementary has class sizes larger than 90% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Heritage Elementary ranks #2 of 5 public schools in Grimes, IA.
School address
District: Dallas Center-Grimes Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 190852002242 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.3:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
+24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.7%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-60% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Heritage Elementary compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Heritage Elementary
Heritage Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Grimes, Iowa, enrolling 530 students.
Class loads run heavy: 18.3:1 is larger than about 90% of Iowa schools and 24% above the 14.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 14.7% free-meal eligibility runs 60% below the Iowa average.
Enrollment of 530 puts it in the larger third of Iowa schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,322 scored Iowa schools.
Against 213 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #130.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 34/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 530 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 7.4% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Dallas Center-Grimes Comm School District also operates Dallas Center-Grimes High School (1,073 students) and Dallas Center-Grimes Middle School (586 students) alongside Heritage Elementary.
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 Heritage Elementary compares
Heritage Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.3:1 | ▲ 24% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.7% | ▼ 60% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 530 | top 18% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.3:1
Leaner classes than 23% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
530
Bigger than 65% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
14.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 60% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.3:1
students per teacher
- 24% above state mean
Top 90% in Iowa - lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
7.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$10,874
per pupil, district-wide
- below Iowa avg of $12,854
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 530 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 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 80.6%
African American 8.1%
Hispanic or Latino 4.7%
Two or More 4.2%
Asian 2.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 80.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.9, Heritage Elementary is about as mixed as the Iowa school average of 33.8.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dallas Center-Grimes Comm School District, which includes Heritage Elementary.
$10,874
Per student
-15%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-34%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.8%
State 47.4%
Federal 6.8%
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 Heritage Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Center-Grimes High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Dallas Center-Grimes Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Dc-G Oak View | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| South Prairie Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| North Ridge Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Heritage Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,073
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 586
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 537
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 436
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 412
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~530 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Heritage Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Heritage Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Dallas Center-Grimes Comm School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Heritage Elementary
How many students attend Heritage Elementary?
Heritage Elementary has 530 students enrolled. It is a public school in Grimes, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Heritage Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Heritage Elementary is 18.3:1, which is 24% higher than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 17% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Heritage Elementary?
14.7% of students at Heritage Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Heritage Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Heritage Elementary is White at 80.6% of enrollment, in Grimes, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Heritage Elementary?
Heritage Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Heritage Elementary rank among public schools in Grimes?
By Resource Investment Index, Heritage Elementary ranks #2 of 5 public schools in Grimes, IA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Grimes on the city page.
Is Heritage Elementary a good school?
Heritage Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 90% of Iowa schools. 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 Dallas Center-Grimes Comm School District?
Besides Heritage Elementary, Dallas Center-Grimes Comm School District also operates Dallas Center-Grimes High School (1,073 students), Dallas Center-Grimes Middle School (586 students), and Dc-G Oak View (537 students). See the Dallas Center-Grimes Comm School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.