Ottumwa Community School District

Summary:

The Ottumwa Community School District in Iowa consists of 11 schools, including 7 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school. The district as a whole is ranked 299 out of 313 school districts in Iowa and is rated 0 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger, indicating significant challenges.

Within the district, a few schools stand out as higher-performing. Eisenhower Elementary School and Horace Mann Elementary School consistently perform above the district and state averages on standardized tests, with 60-80% of students proficient or better in core subjects. These schools have 3-star ratings from SchoolDigger and are ranked among the top 500 elementary schools in Iowa. In contrast, schools like James Elementary, Liberty Elementary, and Gateway High School struggle, with significantly lower test scores and performance.

The district faces several key challenges, including a consistently high chronic absenteeism rate of 21.6% across all schools, which is likely a contributing factor to the overall academic underperformance. Additionally, there are significant disparities in spending per student, with the higher-performing schools generally spending more. Addressing these systemic issues, as well as the large performance gaps between schools, will be crucial for improving educational outcomes for students in the Ottumwa Community School District.

District Detail

115 N Ferry St
Ottumwa, IA 52501

(641) 684-6597

SchoolDigger Rank:
299^th of 313 Iowa districts

See the 2025 Iowa District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 5,005

Primary Schools: 7
Middle Schools: 1
High Schools: 2
Alternative Schools: 2

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ISASP English Language Arts (2025)									ISASP Mathematics (2025)									ISASP Science (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISASP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 4th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 5th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 6th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 7th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 8th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 9th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 10th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 11th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 3rd Grade	ISASP Mathematics 4th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 5th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 6th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 7th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 8th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 9th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 10th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 11th Grade	ISASP Science 5th Grade	ISASP Science 8th Grade	ISASP Science 10th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Eisenhower Elementary School	Public	K-5	2624 Marilyn Rd	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 684-5617	248	18	13.7	29.4%	179 (72.2%)	14 (5.6%)	29 (11.7%)	6 (2.4%)	1 (0.4%)	16 (6.5%)	3 (1.2%)	59.9	262^nd of 576 public elementary schools	54.5%		66.3	188^th of 557 public elementary schools	66.2%	74	66.7	76.2	76.7							76.2	81.0	72.1							74.4			$12,778	$1,167	$11,611
Evans Junior High School	Public, Alternative	8-9	812 Chester Avenue	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 684-6511	684	53	12.9	44.3%	345 (50.4%)	54 (7.9%)	175 (25.6%)	20 (2.9%)	5 (0.7%)	72 (10.5%)	12 (1.8%)								(n/a)						63.0	73.4								50.0	55.2				45.9		$12,177	$523	$11,654
Horace Mann Elementary School	Public	K-5	1523 N Court St	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 684-4661	250	19	13.1	33.6%	138 (55.2%)	38 (15.2%)	47 (18.8%)	6 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (7.2%)	3 (1.2%)	35.7	430^th of 576 public elementary schools	25.3%		42.9	376^th of 557 public elementary schools	32.5%	54	44.7	79.1	63.9							65.8	67.4	61.1							66.7			$13,776	$1,167	$12,609
James Elementary School	Public	K-5	1001 N Benton	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 684-5411	249	19	13.0	68.3%	85 (34.1%)	40 (16.1%)	57 (22.9%)	3 (1.2%)	1 (0.4%)	55 (22.1%)	8 (3.2%)	4.3	555^th of 576 public elementary schools	3.6%		7	527^th of 557 public elementary schools	5.4%	28	41.2	55.6	38.9							35.3	55.6	41.7							34.3			$13,974	$1,218	$12,755
Ottumwa High School	Public	10-12	501 E 2nd	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 683-4444	910	55	16.5	37.4%	441 (48.5%)	92 (10.1%)	287 (31.5%)	20 (2.2%)	2 (0.2%)	55 (6.0%)	12 (1.3%)	29	278^th of 340 public high schools	18.2%		23.5	284^th of 338 public high schools	16.0%	6								68.9	66.9								52.3	60.2			55.5	$14,352	$688	$13,665
Wilson Elementary School	Public	K-5	1102 E. 4th St.	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 684-5441	335	27	12.4	59.7%	85 (25.4%)	56 (16.7%)	113 (33.7%)	11 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (18.5%)	8 (2.4%)	14.6	510^th of 576 public elementary schools	11.5%		26.3	453^rd of 557 public elementary schools	18.7%	57	60.0	74.5	25.5							60.0	53.2	34.0							19.1			$13,451	$1,167	$12,284
Pickwick Early Childhood Center	Public	PK-K	1306 W Williams	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 684-7179	560	25	22.6	43.4%	282 (50.4%)	63 (11.3%)	148 (26.4%)	20 (3.6%)	4 (0.7%)	29 (5.2%)	14 (2.5%)								(n/a)
Liberty Intermediate School	Public	6-7	50 Traxler Drive	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 682-4502	633	46	13.8	48.5%	302 (47.7%)	63 (10.0%)	166 (26.2%)	23 (3.6%)	6 (0.9%)	65 (10.3%)	8 (1.3%)								(n/a)				60.8	60.9								53.5	52.0								$13,867	$1,196	$12,671
Douma Elementary School	Public	1-2	307 W. Mary St.	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 684-4668	327	29	11.3	50.5%	163 (49.8%)	20 (6.1%)	94 (28.7%)	11 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (10.4%)	5 (1.5%)								(n/a)																						$14,254	$1,164	$13,090
Ottumwa Virtual Learning	Public, Virtual, Alternative	PK, KG-12	115 N Ferry St	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(641) 684-6597	106	0		62.3%	59 (55.7%)	9 (8.5%)	14 (13.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (21.7%)	1 (0.9%)								(n/a)							40.0									0.0
Gateway High School	Public	9-12	907 Gateway Drive	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(641) 684-6597	213	7	29.5	62.0%	114 (53.5%)	16 (7.5%)	45 (21.1%)	5 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (13.1%)	5 (2.3%)	1.3	331^st of 340 public high schools	2.6%		0.1	336^th of 338 public high schools	0.6%	5								40.9	35.5								25.0	12.5			41.7
Fahrney Elementary	Public	3-5	520 South Milner	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(641) 684-6597	490	31	15.8	49.8%	239 (48.8%)	27 (5.5%)	139 (28.4%)	29 (5.9%)	3 (0.6%)	47 (9.6%)	6 (1.2%)								(n/a)

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Cardinal Community School District	9.63 mi	3	248^th
Eddyville-Blakesburg- Fremont Central School District	11.87 mi	4	247^th
Davis County Community School District	16.82 mi	4	260^th
Pekin Community School District	17.2 mi	2	170^th
Albia Community School District	20.1 mi	5	102^nd

See the top IA Iowa districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Iowa Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.