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Southeast Polk Community School District

At a glance

121^stof 313 Iowa districts▼ 9

Better than 61% of Iowa districts

Elementary 8 Middle 1 High 1 Alternative 1Grades PK, KG-12

407 8th Street SE
Altoona, IA 50009·(515) 967-4294·All Iowa district rankings →

Statewide performance 2017–2025

2025: better than 61.3% of districts

Schools

6,359

Students

5-star schools

Top rankedRunnells Elementary7^th of 576 Iowa elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Southeast Polk High School up 88 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Delaware Elementary 12.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

2★

1★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Iowa districts →See the top-ranked Iowa schools →

Summary:

The Southeast Polk Community School District in Iowa consists of 11 schools, including 8 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school. The district as a whole is ranked 121 out of 313 school districts in Iowa and is rated 3 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Several schools within the district stand out as top performers, including Runnells Elementary, Mitchellville Elementary, and Four Mile Elementary. These schools consistently rank among the top in the state, with exceptional proficiency rates in core subjects. Other high-performing schools include Centennial Elementary and Altoona Elementary.

However, the district also exhibits significant disparities in school performance, with some schools significantly underperforming compared to the top-tier institutions. The district-wide chronic absenteeism rate of 21.6% is also a concern that may be impacting student learning and achievement across the schools. Addressing these challenges and ensuring equitable resource distribution could help improve outcomes for all students in the Southeast Polk Community School District.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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
Clay Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3200 First Avenue S.	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 967-4198	700	43	16.4	36.1%	423 (60.4%)	98 (14.0%)	104 (14.9%)	22 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (7.6%)	48	343^rd of 576 public elementary schools	40.5%		61	242^nd of 557 public elementary schools	56.6%	101	68.3	77.7	68.3							74.0	73.8	61.0							66.3			$12,723	$186	$12,537
Altoona Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	301 6th St SW	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 967-3771	429	35	12.2	53.4%	277 (64.6%)	66 (15.4%)	45 (10.5%)	9 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	29 (6.8%)	63.5	231^st of 576 public elementary schools	59.9%		73.5	122^nd of 557 public elementary schools	78.1%	109	66.7	78.4	85.3							78.5	80.4	83.8							61.8			$14,305	$587	$13,718
Centennial Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	910 7th Ave SE	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 967-2109	423	32	13.1	38.1%	303 (71.6%)	36 (8.5%)	42 (9.9%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (8.7%)	71.2	155^th of 576 public elementary schools	73.1%		77.2	86^th of 557 public elementary schools	84.6%	69	81.5	78.7	72.9							87.7	85.2	87.1							65.7			$15,221	$767	$14,454
Delaware Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4401 E 46th St	Des Moines	50317	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 262-3197	440	36	12.1	45.9%	267 (60.7%)	63 (14.3%)	57 (13.0%)	25 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	26 (5.9%)	65.6	215^th of 576 public elementary schools	62.7%		72.2	138^th of 557 public elementary schools	75.2%	77	83.6	87.1	72.9							86.6	83.9	64.3							64.3			$15,865	$1,352	$14,513
Four Mile Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	670 SE 68th St	Pleasant Hill	50327	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 265-1972	495	36	13.8	37.8%	345 (69.7%)	23 (4.6%)	66 (13.3%)	27 (5.5%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (1.8%)	24 (4.8%)	71.2	157^th of 576 public elementary schools	72.7%		69.2	169^th of 557 public elementary schools	69.7%	12	69.3	88.9	76.0							76.0	91.4	84.0							72.0			$13,837	$290	$13,547
Mitchellville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	308 Elm Ave NW	Mitchellville	50169	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 967-4274	255	19	13.4	31.0%	227 (89.0%)	4 (1.6%)	8 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (5.5%)	90.9	14^th of 576 public elementary schools	97.6%		86.9	27^th of 557 public elementary schools	95.2%	13	82.1	93.8	97.3							89.7	93.8	97.3							91.9			$16,832	$385	$16,447
Runnells Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6575 SE 116th Street	Runnells	50237	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 966-2068	260	18	14.6	26.9%	216 (83.1%)	9 (3.5%)	20 (7.7%)	5 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.8%)	92.5	7^th of 576 public elementary schools	98.8%		89	16^th of 557 public elementary schools	97.1%	9	89.4	96.4	89.7							97.9	92.9	97.4							84.6			$14,164	$100	$14,065
Southeast Polk High School	Public	10-12	7945 NE University Ave.	Pleasant Hill	50327	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 967-6631	1,722	99	17.3	33.4%	1,243 (72.2%)	159 (9.2%)	190 (11.0%)	33 (1.9%)	4 (0.2%)	5 (0.3%)	88 (5.1%)	58.1	163^rd of 340 public high schools	52.1%		36.2	251^st of 338 public high schools	25.7%	88								74.6	74.4								69.2	70.3			75.6	$14,031	$366	$13,665
Southeast Polk Junior High	Public, Alternative	8-9	8325 NE University Ave.	Pleasant Hill	50327	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 967-5509	0	71	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)						76.8	76.2								71.8	69.9				75.1		$13,053	$388	$12,665
Willowbrook Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	300 17th Ave SW	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 967-7512	523	39	13.3	53.0%	334 (63.9%)	62 (11.9%)	57 (10.9%)	14 (2.7%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	52 (9.9%)	38.9	407^th of 576 public elementary schools	29.3%		35.2	413^th of 557 public elementary schools	25.9%	6	68.8	75.3	61.6							80.5	67.9	53.4							52.1			$13,785	$487	$13,298
Southeast Polk Middle School	Public	6-7	501 Falcon Drive	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 967-5533	1,112	70	15.8	41.0%	769 (69.2%)	92 (8.3%)	132 (11.9%)	33 (3.0%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	80 (7.2%)								(n/a)				77.4	80.6								82.7	76.1								$13,720	$335	$13,385

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Des Moines Independent Community School District	3.46 mi	59	306^th
Bondurant-Farrar Community School District	4.64 mi	5	139^th
Saydel Community School District	7.62 mi	3	258^th
Opportunity Ed_Des Moines	7.8 mi	1
Charter Organization: Oakmont Education	7.88 mi	1

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.