Fairmeadows Elementary School

Fairmeadows Elementary School is a public elementary school located in West Des Moines, Iowa, serving grades PK-6 with a total enrollment of 545 students. The school is part of the West Des Moines Community School District, which is ranked 216 out of 313 districts in Iowa and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Fairmeadows consistently outperforms the West Des Moines Community School District and the state of Iowa in proficiency rates across various grade levels and subjects on the ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress) tests. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, Fairmeadows had 80% of 6th-grade students proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 77.4% for the district and 72.8% for the state. In mathematics, Fairmeadows had 81.3% of 6th-grade students proficient or better, compared to 77.7% for the district and 71.8% for the state. However, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 7.7% in the 2021-2022 school year to 21.6% in the 2023-2024 school year, which is a concerning trend.

Fairmeadows performs well compared to other elementary schools in the West Des Moines Community School District, such as Crossroads Park Elementary and Jordan Creek Elementary, which also demonstrate strong academic performance. However, some nearby schools, like Clive Learning Academy and Western Hills Elementary, have lower test scores and higher chronic absenteeism rates, indicating more significant challenges. Fairmeadows' strong academic performance, coupled with its relatively low student-teacher ratio and moderate spending per student, suggest that the school has implemented effective educational practices and maintains a supportive learning environment for its students.