Dowling Catholic High School

Dowling Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in the central United States, in West Des Moines, Iowa, within the Diocese of Des Moines. As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,431 students and 94.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.1:1. The school's enrollment was 81.2% White, 4.1% Black, 10.2% Hispanic, 4.4% Asian and 0.1% American Indian / Alaska Native. History It was created in 1972 by the merger of St. Joseph Academy for girls (established in 1884) and Dowling High School for boys (established in 1918 as the Des Moines College boarding school for boys). Academics During the 2003-04 school year, Dowling Catholic High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.