Original Research by School Decision on Oakmont
Oakmont is a middle school in Des Moines, part of the Great Oak district. The school is listed with a future operational status alert, and the only available state testing results come from the 2024-25 school year, suggesting it is a new or recently opened school. Because the data includes only that single year, there is no trend to examine.
On those first-year state assessments, proficiency rates across tested subjects were modest. Performance in English language arts was higher than in mathematics custody. A parent looking at these results should consider that they reflect the school’s initial cohort and may not yet represent a stabilized academic picture. No multi-year trend exists to judge whether this is a starting point for growth, so it is a reasonable question to raise with the school.
Beyond test scores, the data is thin. Enrollment numbers, demographic breakdowns, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education and English learner counts, discipline records, staffing ratios, and program offerings are all missing. There is no way to describe the student body size, its composition, or the level of student support available. The school’s grade band is middle school only, so there is no high school graduation rate or advanced coursework data to evaluate.
Des Moines, where Oakmont is located, is Iowa’s capital and a city with a mix of commercial, civic, and residential life. It is home to major employers in insurance and financial services, as well as tech and data-center operations that have been expanding in the area. The city has over a hundred acres of parkland and miles of trails, and its downtown is anchored by the state capitol, the Des Moines Art Center, and the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The metro area has seen population growth in recent years, and the housing market reflects a steady increase in home values and rents relative to national benchmarks.
Within the Great Oak district, a parent-relevant development is the state approval in early 2025 of a new charter school called Great Oaks High School and Career Center-Des Moines South, set to open in 2026 with a focus on nontraditional high school students and career and technical education. That school is separate from Oakmont, but families in the district may encounter it as an additional option when their children reach high school.
For a parent considering Oakmont, the largest unknowns are the school’s actual enrollment, its student demographics, and the specific academic or extracurricular programs it offers. The single year of test results offers a limited snapshot, and without trend data or comparison to other middle schools in the district or county, it is difficult to place its performance in context. A family would want to ask about class sizes, the curriculum, and the support systems in place for students, especially because the available data leaves so much unaddressed.
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