Paris Elementary School

Paris Elementary School is a small rural school in Paris, Idaho, serving 134 students in grades PK-5 within the Bear Lake County District. About 56% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area's economic challenges. The school currently ranks 181st out of 346 Idaho elementary schools, placing it at the 48th percentile with a 2-star rating — below its district neighbors: A J Winters Elementary School ranks at the 70th percentile and Georgetown Elementary School sits at the 73rd percentile.

One of the most striking findings is that Paris spends more per student than its peers yet gets weaker results. With per-pupil spending of $9,540, Paris outspends A J Winters Elementary School ($7,079) and Georgetown Elementary School ($5,792) by roughly 35% and 65%, respectively. It also has a more favorable student-teacher ratio (16.0) than A J Winters (18.6), though Georgetown has the smallest classes at 12.9. Despite these advantages, Paris is the only traditional elementary in the district where both math (46.5%) and English Language Arts (56.3%) fall below district averages (48.6% and 58.4%), even though it still exceeds state averages (43.1% and 54.0%).

Paris has genuine bright spots. Third-grade math proficiency (63.6%) far exceeds both the district (47.7%) and state (50.9%) averages, and chronic absenteeism has improved dramatically from 18.0% in 2021-2022 to 7.8% today — well below the state rate of 13.8%. Still, absenteeism remains nearly double the district's 4.4%, and 5th-grade science (32.0%) trails the state (44.0%) and district (47.2%) by wide margins. Scores also swing rapidly from year to year; all-grade math proficiency went from 41.9% to 71.0% and back to 46.5% over four years, a pattern likely driven by small class sizes. Families weighing options can also look at Bear Lake On-Line Learning, which Paris beats by double digits in math and English Language Arts.