South Iowa News

There were 6,284 students enrolled in Wapello County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.2% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed at the time, 52.1% identified as male and 47.9% as female.

Data also showed that white students made up 62.1% of the student body, the largest percentage in Wapello County schools, followed by Hispanic students with 19.9%, 7.8% Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 5.8% Black, 2.3% Asian, 1.9% multiracial and 0.3% Native American.

Ottumwa High School had the highest enrollment among Wapello County’s 17 schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 1,239 students.

Public school enrollment in Iowa remained relatively stable in the 2024-25 school year, with 480,665 students, a slight decrease of 0.63% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, enrollment in accredited nonpublic schools grew by nearly 10%, reaching 39,356 students, up from 36,195. This increase was partially driven by the Students First Education Savings (ESA) program, with 27,866 students utilizing ESAs at nonpublic schools.

Rank	School name	School district	Total enrollment in 2022-23	Total enrollment in 2023-24	% change
1	Ottumwa High School	Ottumwa Comm	1,317	1,239	-5.9%
2	Liberty Elementary School	Ottumwa Comm	430	764	77.7%
3	Evans Middle School	Ottumwa Comm	1,047	689	-34.2%
4	Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Junior-Senior High School	Eddyville-Blakesburg- Fremont CSD	423	425	0.5%
5	Cardinal Elementary School	Cardinal Comm	387	398	2.8%
6	Douma Elementary School	Ottumwa Comm	330	345	4.5%
7	Wilson Elementary School	Ottumwa Comm	345	343	-0.6%
8	Cardinal Junior High School	Cardinal Comm	284	301	6%
9	Cardinal High School	Cardinal Comm	276	277	0.4%
10	Horace Mann Elementary School	Ottumwa Comm	240	251	4.6%
11	Eddyville Elementary School	Eddyville-Blakesburg- Fremont CSD	262	245	-6.5%
12	Eisenhower Elementary School	Ottumwa Comm	238	243	2.1%
13	The Gateway Center	Ottumwa Comm	187	230	23%
14	James Elementary School	Ottumwa Comm	229	228	-0.4%
15	Pickwick Early Childhood Center	Ottumwa Comm	166	165	-0.6%
16	Blakesburg Elementary School	Eddyville-Blakesburg- Fremont CSD	107	84	-21.5%
17	Ottumwa Virtual Learning	Ottumwa Comm	27	57	111.1%