Original Research by School Decision on East High School
East High School serves roughly the upper end of comprehensive high school size in Des Moines, and it is one of the older secondary buildings in the city. It sits on the near east side of Iowa’s capital, a neighborhood that is more densely settled and less affluent than parts of the western suburbs. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a figure that places the school well above the district average and signals the economic pressures many families are navigating.
The student body is notably diverse. Hispanic students make up the largest single group, followed by White students and then Black students. Asian and multiracial populations are each present in the small double digits. This mix creates a peer environment that reflects the changing demographics of Des Moines itself, a city that has grown steadily through both domestic migration and immigrant settlement, with a large and well-established Latino community and a growing number of families from African nations. The school’s racial and ethnic composition is a plain fact of the setting, not a judgment on it; families considering East should know that this is a school where no single background dominates, and where many students share the experience of being part of a cultural majority-minority population.
Academically, the most recent state testing data shows a profile that is mixed when measured against the state’s proficiency benchmarks. In English language arts, the share of students meeting the standard falls in a range that a parent might find concerning, though it is roughly in line with what one sees at many large urban high schools serving a similar demographic. In math, proficiency is lower, and in science it is in a similar band. These figures represent a single snapshot from a year of testing, and they do not capture growth measures or the full range of student work. A family looking at these results would want to ask the school directly about how it supports students who arrive below grade level, and about the specific programs it uses to move students toward college and career readiness.
No four-year graduation rate was available in the data provided here. That is an important gap. For a high school of this size, the graduation rate is one of the most telling measures of whether the building is effectively moving students through to a diploma. Its absence in this data set means a parent should seek it from the school or the district, especially if they are comparing East to other options.
Program offerings and course access data were also not included in this profile. In a school of this enrollment, course breadth can vary widely. Without that information, a family considering East should visit the school’s course catalog and ask about Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, career and technical education pathways, and any specialized academies or programs. Some large Des Moines high schools have signature programs, and it would be worth confirming what is available here.
The housing market in the immediate area around East High School shows home values that are well below the state median, and rents that are moderate relative to income. The typical home in the zip code is priced at a level that is accessible for many working- and middle-class buyers, and the monthly cost of renting is lower than the estimated mortgage payment on a median-priced home. That affordability is one reason families choose this part of the city, though it also reflects the older housing stock and the absence of the new-build subdivisions that are more common in the suburban districts to the west and north.
Des Moines itself offers a full set of urban amenities: a downtown with the state capitol, the Des Moines Art Center, the World Food Prize headquarters, and the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The city has an extensive park and trail system, a growing tech and insurance employment base anchored by Principal Financial and Wells Fargo, and a metro population that continues to expand. East High sits within a school district that is large, diverse, and facing the challenges that come with serving a high-poverty urban population while also drawing families from some of the city’s more stable middle-class neighborhoods.
For a family weighing East High School, the decision comes down to fit. This is a school where the student body is economically and racially diverse, where test scores suggest room for growth, and where the broader city context offers opportunity and complexity in equal measure. It is not a school with a strong academic reputation on paper, but paper does not tell a family whether a teenager will find teachers who connect with them or a sense of belonging in a large building. That is the question a visit and a conversation with current families should answer.
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