The top reported proficiency rate is 88% in Math. The lowest is 77% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Bellevue Elementary School
Bellevue Elementary is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in the small Mississippi River town of Bellevue, Iowa. The school is part of the Bellevue Community School District and operates in a historic building, the former Jackson County Courthouse, which sits directly in town near the riverfront. The high school and middle school are located on a separate campus on the western edge of town, so elementary families are based in a different part of the community than the older grades.
The enrollment is large for an elementary school in a town of this size, with a student body that is overwhelmingly white. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. State data on English learner enrollment and special education identification were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about supports for those populations.
Academically, this school is a strong performer by the measures available. On the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science were well above what is typical for a school serving this grade band. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, placed it in the top quartile relative to districts in Jackson County. That is a clear strength and gives a family a grounded basis for confidence in the core instruction. The school had just one year of reported test data, so there is no trend line yet to show whether performance is improving or holding steady.
The school itself reports near-perfect participation in testing, which suggests a strong culture of compliance and engagement with state accountability. That is a practical indicator that students are in the building and accounted for on test days.
The community context matters here. Bellevue is one of the few growing places in Jackson County, having added residents over the prior decade, though recent estimates show a slight decline. The town draws tourists for its riverfront, bluffs, and historic architecture, and the local economy depends on that draw as well as on the school district itself. Housing values in the area are above the state average, and the typical home price is not far from the national benchmark. For a family moving to the area, the housing market is real but not extreme for a Mississippi River town. The commute to Dubuque or Maquoketa is reasonable, and those nearby cities are the main draw for visitors and likely for some regional shopping and services.
A notable structural feature of the district is its long-standing whole-grade sharing agreement with the neighboring Andrew Community School District. Under that arrangement, Andrew high school students have the choice to attend Bellevue High School or Maquoketa High School. This affects the peer composition in the secondary grades and is something a family with older children would want to understand when looking ahead beyond elementary school.
For a family considering Bellevue Elementary, the picture is straightforward. The school delivers strong academic results in the elementary grades, it occupies a distinctive historic building in the center of a small river town, and its student body reflects the overwhelmingly white demographic of the surrounding area. The elementary years are isolated from the high school sharing arrangement, so that is not a factor for early-grade families. The district enrollment has been holding steady or growing, which is unusual in a region of projected long-term decline, and that stability is a favorable sign for the school's resource base. A parent who values high proficiency rates and a small-town, riverfront setting will find a clear fit here. Anyone with a child who needs special education or English language support should ask the school directly about those programs, since the state data does not report them.
See more original research from School Decision →