Genesee School

Genesee School is a small PK-12 Alternative school in Genesee, Idaho, serving about 288 students from preschool through 12th grade as the single educational site for the Genesee Joint District. The school has a student-teacher ratio of roughly 13.9:1 and spends about $13,943 per student, with about 23.6% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Genesee School consistently posts strong academic results. In the 2024-25 school year, test scores in math (52.0%), science (53.8%), and English language arts (61.9%) all exceeded Idaho state averages and outpaced nearby Culdesac School by wide margins — more than 30 percentage points in both math and ELA. Early-grade performance is particularly impressive: 73.9% of 3rd graders were proficient in both math and ELA, well above state levels. Graduation rates have also been strong, topping 90% in three of the last five years, and chronic absenteeism has improved from 17.3% to just 10.1%, which is well below both the state average and Culdesac School's 20.0%.

The main areas to watch are science and the middle grades. Science proficiency fell to 31.7% in 2025-26, below the state's 42.7%, after sitting at 63.8% just two years earlier. Middle school also shows a notable dip, with 6th grade ELA proficiency at 33.3% compared with 73.9% in 3rd grade, though scores recover in 7th and 8th grade and reach 78.3% at the end-of-course level. Despite this, Genesee School outperforms Culdesac School while spending less per student and having a higher student-teacher ratio, suggesting advantages from its larger enrollment and lower poverty rate in a rural setting.