The top reported proficiency rate is 84% in Math. The lowest is 70% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Orange Elementary School
Orange Elementary School is a regular public elementary school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in the Waterloo Community School District. It is located on the southern side of Waterloo, a mid-sized city that has long been a regional hub for manufacturing, healthcare, and retail in northeast Iowa’s Cedar Valley. Waterloo’s economy has deep roots in John Deere’s agricultural machinery production, and the city is home to a diverse population that includes long-standing Black communities and growing Latino, Congolese, and Burmese groups. The city’s population has been essentially flat in recent years, with a slight decline since 2020, and housing remains relatively affordable compared to national benchmarks. The typical home value in the area is below the state average, and rents are modest, making this a market where a working family can find a realistic entry point.
The school itself serves an enrollment that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who are two or more races, Black, and Hispanic. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker that this is a school where economic diversity is present and a substantial share of families face financial strain. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports offered for those groups.
On state assessments, Orange Elementary students posted results that are above the 70 percent proficiency mark in all three tested subjects. Math proficiency was particularly strong, and reading and science results were solid as well. Participation rates in testing were very high, which means the results reflect nearly all students in the tested grades. However, when measured against other districts in Black Hawk County, the school’s overall proficiency across subjects landed in the bottom quartile among the five districts that had reported data. That puts it a bit below the county midpoint, but still within the range of schools that are delivering a solid baseline of academic achievement for elementary students. Because this is the only year of data available in the profile, there is no trend to compare; the results represent a single snapshot.
As a prekindergarten-through-fifth-grade campus, there is no graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism data appeared in the profile. The school’s type is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it operates within the Waterloo Community School District. The district is in the midst of a major structural change: the two traditional high schools, Waterloo East and Waterloo West, are being consolidated into a single new high school called Waterloo United, which will be located at the current Central Middle School and Waterloo Career Center site. That change will reshape the high school experience for all district families, but for an elementary-age student at Orange, it will become relevant only when they advance to the upper grades.
The academic program at Orange appears to be strong in core subjects, with math standing out. The school’s overall performance is decent but not the top of the county, and a family moving into the area may want to understand how the school supports students who are not yet at proficiency, as well as what enrichment or intervention programs exist. The community context is one of an affordable, manufacturing-rooted city with a slowly shrinking population, but with civic anchors like the TechWorks Campus and the University of Northern Iowa in adjacent Cedar Falls. For a family looking for a stable, regular elementary school with solid test scores in a mid-sized city that offers affordability and a diverse population, Orange Elementary is a reasonable option. The missing pieces on special education and English learner services are gaps a prospective parent should fill by talking to the school directly.
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