In 1894, a two-story wood frame structure was built on the site now occupied by Phenix Elementary School.  This building was constructed in three phases.  In the first wooden building, the elementary students were housed on the first floor.  In 1895, the first high school students occupied the second floor.  That building was eventually torn down.  In 1939, the present Phenix School was built.  It was a W.P.A. construction project.  It was called the West Des Moines Elementary School, because at that time, it was the only elementary school in town.
           
Nellie Phenix was a classroom teacher at West Des Moines Elementary School.  She became principal in the mid-forties and served in that capacity for many years.  The school was renamed Phenix Elementary School in her honor in 1955.  During the 1992-1993 school year, Phenix was closed for extensive updating and remodeling.  At its reopening in the fall of 1993, Phenix displayed a whole new look, both in facility and programming.
           
Today, because of our focus only on Kindergarten through 3rd grade, we have the distinction of being classified as Phenix Elementary Early Childhood Center.  In our strive for excellence, we use time-tested fundamentals of the past and incorporate cutting edge learning breakthroughs of the present, to give our students every advantage they will need for the future.