Enrollment
141
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Hills, IA
Hills Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Hills Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 191470000890
👥 S:T ratio 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 72
📋 Attendance 8
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Hills Elementary School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 97% of Iowa schools.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 8.8:1
- small classes for Iowa
- 63.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 141
- students enrolled
Hills Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 97% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Iowa City Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 191470000890 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.8:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
-41% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.8%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+75% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hills Elementary School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Hills Elementary School
Hills Elementary School is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Hills, Iowa, enrolling 141 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.8:1, Hills Elementary School is leaner than roughly 97% of Iowa schools and 41% under the state's 14.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 63.8% of students qualify for free meals, 75% above the Iowa average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 141 puts it in the smaller third of Iowa schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,322 scored Iowa schools.
Against 24 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #8.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 141 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 36.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Iowa City Comm School District also operates Iowa City High School (1,666 students) and West Senior High School (1,514 students) alongside Hills 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 Hills Elementary School compares
Hills 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 | 8.8:1 | ▼ 41% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.8% | ▲ 75% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 141 | top 87% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.8:1
Leaner classes than 93% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
141
Bigger than 14% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
63.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 75% 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
8.8:1
students per teacher
- 41% below state mean
Top 3% in Iowa - lower ratio than 97% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
36.9%
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
$13,920
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 141 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 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.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Iowa City Comm School District, which includes Hills Elementary School.
$13,920
Per student
+8%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.7%
State 41.5%
Federal 12.8%
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 Hills Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Senior High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Liberty High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southeast Junior High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Northwest Junior High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Hills Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,666
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 1,514
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 1,286
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 1,269
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 1,113
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
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 (~141 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~8.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Hills Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Hills Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Iowa City 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 Hills Elementary School
How many students attend Hills Elementary School?
Hills Elementary School has 141 students enrolled. It is a public school in Hills, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hills Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Hills Elementary School is 8.8:1, which is 41% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 44% 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 Hills Elementary School?
63.8% of students at Hills Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hills Elementary School?
Hills Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher 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).
Is Hills Elementary School a good school?
Hills Elementary School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 97% 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 Iowa City Comm School District?
Besides Hills Elementary School, Iowa City Comm School District also operates Iowa City High School (1,666 students), West Senior High School (1,514 students), and Liberty High School (1,286 students). See the Iowa City 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.