Original Research by School Decision on John Cline Elementary School
John Cline Elementary School serves the earliest grades in the Decorah Community School District, housing kindergarten through second grade. Because the school covers only the primary years, there are no state testing results or a graduation rate to report; those measures apply to older grade spans. The absence of that data is a function of the school’s grade configuration, not a reflection of its performance.
The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic representation and a small share of students who identify with two or more races. Asian and Black students each account for a very small portion of the population. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need that falls within a moderate range for a public school in this setting. Counts for students receiving special education services or English learner supports were not available in the data reviewed.
Decorah itself shapes the experience of families at this school. The town is a blend of college town, county seat, and agricultural hub, anchored by Luther College and the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. The downtown is walkable, with a farmers market, craft beer scene, and outdoor access to the Upper Iowa River and the bluffs of the Driftless Area. Major employers include Luther College, Winneshiek County government, and Seed Savers Exchange. The Raptor Resource Project, known for its bald eagle nest webcam, is also based in Decorah. Housing values in the area are above the state median but below the national median, and the local unemployment rate has held steady at a moderate figure in recent months.
The Decorah Community School District has made several changes that affect families with young children. Voters approved a bond referendum for high school renovations and expansions, a project that will eventually serve students who begin at John Cline. The district also adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum aligned with the science of reading, a shift to evidence-based reading instruction that directly shapes how kindergarten through second grade students learn to read. At the same time, the district’s property tax rate has declined steadily over recent fiscal years, a factor that may appeal to families considering a move into the area.
John Cline Elementary is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school. Its grade range is narrow, meaning students will transition to another school within the district after second grade, likely to a building serving upper elementary grades. For a parent weighing this school, the key considerations are the single-grade-span structure, the district’s recent adoption of a science-of-reading literacy curriculum, and the broader community context of a small college town with a stable economic base and declining school taxes. The school’s size is appropriate for its grade band, and the share of students from lower-income households is moderate. Without state assessment data, a direct academic comparison to other elementary schools in Winneshiek County is not possible from the information available; a parent may want to ask the district for local reading and math screening results or discuss early literacy benchmarks with the school directly.
See more original research from School Decision →