Summary:
The city of Jerome, Idaho is served by 8 schools—5 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high school-level institutions—totaling 4,170 students, with most schools belonging to the Jerome Joint District, which ranks in the 6th percentile statewide.
Families will find notable differences between schools. Heritage Academy stands out as the strongest overall option: it has the lowest poverty rate (43% free/reduced lunch), the best student–teacher ratio among traditional schools (14.9), the highest per-student spending ($10,619), and very low chronic absenteeism (4.6%). Jefferson Elementary is another bright spot, with the best attendance in the district (6.4% chronic absenteeism) and strong recent test results despite a larger class size. Horizon Elementary has shown significant improvement, jumping from the 2nd to 10th percentile and posting the highest elementary math proficiency in the city (29.6%). At the high school level, Jerome High School is the ELA standout at 45.8% proficiency, nearly matching the state average, though its math scores remain a concern at 20.1%.
On the other end of the spectrum, Summit Elementary faces the greatest challenges, with the highest poverty rate (75%), the highest chronic absenteeism (20.7%), and the lowest statewide rank (1st percentile). Frontier Elementary also struggles, with the lowest ELA proficiency in the city at 23.8%. Jerome Middle School sits in the middle, performing slightly below the district average. Attendance appears to be a strong predictor of success—schools with lower absenteeism tend to outperform their peers. Falls City Academy, a small alternative school for grades 6–12, lacks test score data, making meaningful comparison difficult. Overall, while the district trails state averages in every subject, families will find pockets of momentum at Jefferson, Horizon, and Heritage Academy worth exploring.
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