Original Research by School Decision on Madrid Elementary Preschool
Madrid Elementary Preschool serves only prekindergarten, so it is an early childhood program rather than a full elementary school. It operates as a regular public school within the Madrid Comm School District, housed in a district that has recently passed a bond referendum funding building renovations, including work on the elementary building. That investment in facilities may carry through to the preschool space as well, though specific details on the preschool’s own classroom environment are not available in the data.
The preschool is located in Madrid, a small rural town in Boone County with a history in coal mining and farming. Today Madrid functions largely as a residential community within the Boone micropolitan area, with some local businesses and cultural amenities such as a winery and a Hindu temple. The town has grown modestly and steadily over recent decades. Housing values in the area sit above the state benchmark, and many residents likely commute to Boone, Ames, or the Des Moines metro area for work higher than the cost of the typical mortgage here, so families considering the preschool should weigh the trade-off of a small-town setting against regional commuting patterns.
Enrollment is small, as one would expect for a program serving a single grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of Hispanic students and a similarly small number of multiracial students. A modest share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is lower than what many public school preschools see spend that data point directly. No information is available on the share of students with disabilities or English learners enrolled in the preschool, so a parent interested in those supports would need to ask the school directly.
Because Madrid Elementary Preschool serves only prekindergarten, there are no state assessment results, no graduation rate, and no chronic absenteeism data to report. Those measures simply do not apply here, and their absence should not be read as a weak sign. The preschool’s academic approach is not documented in the data, but the district has invested in technology for older students, including a one-to-one device program for grades seven through twelve and interactive display boards in classrooms. Whether those resources extend to the preschool classroom is unclear.
The district brief also notes the successful bond referendum that funded elementary building work. A parent considering this preschool would want to confirm how that renovation affected the preschool classrooms specifically.
For families, Madrid Elementary Preschool offers an early childhood program in a small, stable community with a district that has shown a commitment to facility improvements. Parents who value a small-town, low-key preschool setting and are comfortable with the limited diversity of the student body may find it a good fit. Those seeking a more urban or highly diverse early childhood environment, or who want detailed data on curriculum and student supports before enrolling, would need to reach out to the school directly for information not captured in the available records.
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