Woodside Middle School

Woodside Middle School is a public middle school located in Des Moines, Iowa, serving grades 5-8 with a total enrollment of 376 students. The school is part of the Saydel Community School District, which is ranked 258 out of 313 districts in Iowa and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Woodside Middle School faces significant challenges, including consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 21.6% to 26.8% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average and the rates of nearby schools like Urbandale Middle School (21.6%) and other Des Moines-area middle schools (also around 21.6%). Additionally, the school's test scores, as measured by the ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress), are generally lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts ranged from 66.3% to 77%, compared to the state averages of 69.8% to 80.2%, and in Mathematics, the school's proficiency rates were 57.8% to 69.3%, compared to the state averages of 71.5% to 74.4%.

Woodside Middle School also has a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 60.37% to 74.14% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the nearby schools, such as Urbandale Middle School (37.05%) and the Ankeny-area schools (12.8% to 18.63%). Despite the higher per-student spending at Woodside Middle School ($14,080), the school's academic performance lags behind other schools in the area, suggesting that simply increasing funding may not be enough to drive improvements, and that a more comprehensive approach focused on addressing the root causes of the school's challenges may be necessary.