Summary:
The city of Hastings, Iowa has only one school serving grades PK-6: East Mills Elementary School. This school has an enrollment of 232 students and is part of the East Mills Community School District. While the school's academic performance is mixed compared to state averages, with strengths in Mathematics but weaknesses in English Language Arts and Science, it faces some notable challenges, including a lack of student diversity and a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
Demographically, East Mills Elementary has a predominantly white student population (92.24%), with small percentages of Hispanic (3.45%), two or more races (3.88%), and Asian (0.43%) students. The school also has a relatively high free/reduced lunch rate of 51.72%, indicating a significant population of economically disadvantaged students. Academically, the school's proficiency rates range from below to slightly above state averages, with 3rd-grade English Language Arts at 54.5% (compared to 66.3% statewide) and 5th-grade Science at 61.8% (compared to 62.6% statewide).
Despite the school's academic challenges, it appears to have a higher-than-average per-student spending of $13,482 and a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 14.3:1. However, the school's overall ranking within the state is relatively low, ranging from 326th out of 567 Iowa elementary schools in 2020-2021 to 417th out of 565 in 2022-2023, with a 1- to 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. While the school has shown some improvement in its ranking over the past few years, there is still room for progress in addressing the academic and demographic concerns to provide a well-rounded educational experience for all students.
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