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St. Cecilia Elementary School

2900 Hoover Ave, Ames, IA 50010Open, per Google (checked Sep 20, 2026)

Key facts

Grades
PreK-6
Students (K-12)
115
Students per teacher
10.4
Affiliation
Roman Catholic
From Ankeny center
22.1 miles

All school facts and where they come from

Can you use Students First ESA here?

✓ On the official Iowa ESA eligible (accredited) list
State list
Includes this school
Applying
The full-year window for 2026-27 ran April 16 to June 30, 2026. A second, half-year window (House File 2754, 2026) runs from 8:00 a.m. October 15 to 11:59 p.m. November 15, 2026, for a $4,074 spring ESA. A student whose full-year application was denied or not completed may apply; a student who received a full-year ESA may not.

Source: the official list, read October 26, 2026.

What you would pay here

Net cost
Not worked out: no verified 2026-27 tuition yet. See the school’s tuition page

School facts

Teachers
13
Student body
Coeducational
Diocese
Archdiocese of Dubuque, IA
Boys and girls
43% boys, 57% girls
Setting
City
Accreditation, state list
Accredited by the State of Iowa (state accreditation), per the Iowa Department of Education 2026-27 nonpublic school building directory, address file of September 30, 2026.

Where this comes from. Something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.

Students and school year

Enrollment over time

135 2019-20 140 2021-22 115 2023-24
2019-20 to 2023-24
135 to 115, down 20 (15%)
Path
Peaked at 140 in 2021-22, then fell below where it started

Students by grade, 2023-24 (pre-K is not in the K-12 count)

33 PK 20 K 18 1 18 2 18 3 17 4 19 5 5 6
Largest grade
Kindergarten (20)
Smallest grade
Grade 6 (5)
Across the grades
Classes thin out toward the upper grades

The school year

Days in the school year
180
Length of the school day
7 hours 10 minutes
Hours of school a year
about 1,290
Kindergarten
Full day, 5 days a week
Library or media center
Yes
Year, against Iowa
3 days longer than the 177-day median of 180 schools we list
School day, against Iowa
10 minutes longer than the median of 7 hours (180 schools we list)

How it compares

This school 10.4 IA median 10.9
Students per teacher
Students per teacher
10.4 here; median 10.9 at 108 IA elementary schools

Student body, 2023-24

White 78% Hispanic 10% Black 6% Two or more races 5% Asian under 1%

Shares of K-12 students by race and ethnicity, as NCES reports them.

St. Cecilia Elementary School tuition, and what Students First ESA pays

Published tuition
On the school’s own tuition page (found October 11, 2026)
Award
$8,148 per student for 2026-27
How it varies
Paid in two equal installments, fall and spring. New for 2026-27: a half-year ESA of $4,074 for the spring semester. Homeschooled students do not qualify.

Figures read from each program’s official pages, October 11, 2026. Sources and how to apply

What would you pay at St. Cecilia Elementary School?

Ask the school
Its full-year tuition and required fees; whether it still takes Students First ESA for 2026-27; its application deadline. More questions to ask

Other private schools nearby

SchoolGradesStudentsPer teacherAffiliationMiles
Ames Christian School ✓On the state list; not in the federal survey3
Nevada Seventh-Day Adventist School ✓On the state list; not in the federal survey9
Sacred Heart School ✓PreK-8787.5Roman Catholic13
Trinity Lutheran School ✓PreK-811613.6Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod)13

On the program’s official list Other private schools

Next Students First ESA date: Open now, until November 15, 2026 (2026-27 half-year ESA application window).

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