Polk County Education: 41,713 white students enrolled in 2023-24 school year

McKenzie Snow, Director of Iowa Department of Education | Ballotpedia

By Des Moines Sun

May 6, 2025

There were 41,713 white students enrolled in Polk County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 3.7% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Data showed that Polk County welcomed 74,753 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, white students comprised 55.8% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 125 schools in the county, Southeast Polk High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 1,712 students.

Public school enrollment in Iowa remained relatively stable in the 2024-25 school year, with 480,665 students, a slight decrease of 0.63% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, enrollment in accredited nonpublic schools grew by nearly 10%, reaching 39,356 students, up from 36,195. This increase was partially driven by the Students First Education Savings (ESA) program, with 27,866 students utilizing ESAs at nonpublic schools.

Ethnicities in Polk County in 2023-24 School Year

Enrollment Demographics in Polk County Schools During 2023-24 School Year

School Name	School District	% of white Students	white Students Count	Total School Enrollment
Southeast Polk High School	Southeast Polk Comm	74.6%	1,712	2,294
Valley High School	West Des Moines Comm	58.1%	1,227	2,111
Johnston Senior High School	Johnston Comm	68.3%	1,210	1,771
Ankeny Centennial High School	Ankeny Comm	80.6%	1,182	1,466
Ankeny High School	Ankeny Comm	79.1%	1,065	1,346
Roosevelt High School	Des Moines Independent Comm	44.5%	908	2,039
Urbandale High School	Urbandale Comm	65.5%	858	1,310
Johnston Middle School	Johnston Comm	68.8%	826	1,200
Northview Middle School	Ankeny Comm	80.5%	822	1,021
Lincoln High School	Des Moines Independent Comm	33.6%	820	2,441
Prairie Ridge Middle School	Ankeny Comm	80.4%	810	1,008
Southeast Polk Junior High School	Southeast Polk Comm	70.8%	783	1,106
Summit Middle School	Johnston Comm	64.4%	731	1,135
Bondurant-Farrar High School	Bondurant-Farrar Comm	84.7%	681	804
Southview Middle School	Ankeny Comm	73.7%	649	881
Parkview Middle School	Ankeny Comm	74.1%	648	875
Ashland Ridge Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	81.3%	624	768
North Polk High School	North Polk Comm	93.2%	603	647
Rock Creek Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	76.7%	562	733
Urbandale Middle School	Urbandale Comm	63.6%	553	869
Northeast Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	82.9%	523	631
East High School	Des Moines Independent Comm	25%	504	2,014
Westwood Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	81.6%	502	615
Westridge Elementary School	West Des Moines Comm	67.5%	479	710
North Polk Middle School	North Polk Comm	94.3%	465	493
Henry a Wallace Elementary School	Johnston Comm	73%	454	622
Prairie Trail Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	81.2%	440	542
Anderson Elementary School	Bondurant-Farrar Comm	83.9%	438	522
Heritage Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	70.5%	422	599
Clay Elementary School	Southeast Polk Comm	68%	418	615
Valley Southwoods	West Des Moines Comm	54.6%	406	744
Stilwell Junior High School	West Des Moines Comm	62.7%	404	644
Timber Ridge Elementary School	Johnston Comm	60.8%	403	663
Horizon Elementary School	Johnston Comm	59.7%	402	673
Jordan Creek Elementary School	West Des Moines Comm	67.5%	399	591
Crocker Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	77.4%	398	514
Lawson Elementary School	Johnston Comm	65.4%	389	595
Morris Elementary School	Bondurant-Farrar Comm	81.7%	388	475
Southeast Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	69.3%	386	557
Merrill Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	59%	384	651
Spring Creek - 6th Grade	Southeast Polk Comm	70.2%	382	544
North Ridge Elementary School	Dallas Center-Grimes Comm	87.7%	371	423
Bondurant - Farrar Intermediate School	Bondurant-Farrar Comm	83.2%	356	428
Beaver Creek Elementary School	Johnston Comm	62.1%	350	564
Cornell Elementary School	Saydel Comm	71.8%	339	472
Webster Elementary School	Urbandale Comm	74.8%	339	453
South Prairie Elementary School	Dallas Center-Grimes Comm	74.3%	338	455
Fairmeadows Elementary School	West Des Moines Comm	65.6%	337	514
Bondurant-Farrar Junior High School	Bondurant-Farrar Comm	82.6%	337	408
Indian Hills Junior High School	West Des Moines Comm	51%	333	653
North Polk West Elementary School	North Polk Comm	93%	331	356
Crossroads Park Elementary School	West Des Moines Comm	58.1%	313	539
North Polk Central Elementary School	North Polk Comm	90.5%	313	346
Olmsted Elementary School	Urbandale Comm	55.3%	313	566
Willowbrook Elementary School	Southeast Polk Comm	63.9%	313	490
Big Creek Elementary School	North Polk Comm	92.3%	311	337
Four Mile Elementary School	Southeast Polk Comm	70.7%	311	440
Saydel High School	Saydel Comm	69.8%	307	440
North High School	Des Moines Independent Comm	19.9%	302	1,514
Western Hills Elementary School	West Des Moines Comm	53%	287	542
Centennial Elementary School	Southeast Polk Comm	76.9%	286	372
Heritage Elementary School	Dallas Center-Grimes Comm	81.4%	285	350
Brody Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	46.5%	278	598
Altoona Elementary School	Southeast Polk Comm	70.2%	275	392
East Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	65.8%	271	412
Hillside Elementary School	West Des Moines Comm	47.3%	258	546
Woodside Middle School	Saydel Comm	67.6%	254	376
Cowles Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	78.1%	250	320
Delaware Elementary School	Southeast Polk Comm	63.3%	250	395
Northwest Elementary School	Ankeny Comm	68.2%	236	346
Hubbell Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	61.4%	235	383
Brubaker Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	36.9%	228	618
Clive Learning Academy	West Des Moines Comm	47.2%	228	483
Hoyt Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	45.1%	219	486
Perkins Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	48%	213	444
Runnells Elementary School	Southeast Polk Comm	83.9%	209	249
Jefferson Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	66.3%	203	306
Virtual Campus	Des Moines Independent Comm	49.9%	193	387
Mitchellville Elementary School	Southeast Polk Comm	87.4%	188	215
Studebaker Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	32.4%	179	553
Morris Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	35.9%	179	498
Hoover High School	Des Moines Independent Comm	19.2%	177	923
Hanawalt Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	54.6%	173	317
Goodrell Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	34.9%	172	493
McCombs Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	26.7%	172	644
Downtown School	Des Moines Independent Comm	65.5%	154	235
Park Ave Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	37.3%	152	408
Windsor Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	55.1%	147	267
Meredith Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	22.2%	145	653
Callanan Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	26.5%	144	543
Greenwood Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	56.6%	141	249
Phillips Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	52.8%	134	254
Weeks Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	19.8%	132	668
Rolling Green Elementary School	Urbandale Comm	52.5%	128	244
Pleasant Hill Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	55.5%	117	211
Stowe Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	34.4%	107	311
South Union Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	25.2%	107	424
Wright Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	43.4%	106	244
Hillis Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	36.1%	105	291
Capitol View Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	20.4%	104	509
Moore Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	33.9%	101	298
Harding Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	15.8%	100	634
Crestview School of Inquiry	West Des Moines Comm	19.6%	97	496
Garton Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	22.4%	96	429
Willard Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	34%	96	282
Jackson Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	21.6%	94	435
Lovejoy Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	21.6%	89	412
Walnut Creek Campus	West Des Moines Comm	53.9%	89	165
Oak Park	Des Moines Independent Comm	26.9%	83	309
Samuelson Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	21.4%	82	384
Cattell Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	26%	80	308
Howe Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	25.7%	78	303
Findley Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	27.1%	77	284
McKinley Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	29.6%	75	253
Walnut Street School	Des Moines Independent Comm	33.3%	69	207
Hiatt Middle School	Des Moines Independent Comm	13.1%	61	466
River Woods Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	11.9%	60	505
Ruby Van Meter	Des Moines Independent Comm	50%	56	112
Madison Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	22.7%	56	247
Monroe Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	11.9%	45	377
Moulton Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	8.5%	37	434
Horizon Science Academy Des Moines	Horizon Science Academy	40.5%	32	79
Carver Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	7.1%	27	379
Edmunds Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	7%	20	286
King Elementary School	Des Moines Independent Comm	6.6%	18	273