Garwood Elementary School

Garwood Elementary School in Rathdrum, ID serves 424 students in grades PK–5 and is part of the Lakeland District, but its most recent performance places it well behind its district peers. While the Lakeland District overall earns 4 stars and ranks in the 79th percentile statewide, Garwood received just 1 star in 2025–2026, ranking 261st out of 346 Idaho elementary schools — a dramatic fall from its 55th-percentile ranking just one year earlier.

Garwood's test scores trail the district and state across nearly every subject. Math proficiency is 39.5% versus 49.4% district-wide, and ELA is 46.7% versus 60.7% district-wide. The gaps are especially wide in 5th grade, where only 27% of students are proficient in math and 25.4% in science. Third-grade reading is also a concern, with just 35.8% proficient. Nearby Lakeland schools tell a very different story: Betty Kiefer Elementary School (60.4% math, 62.3% ELA) and John Brown Elementary School (64.5% math, 64.2% ELA) both earn 4 stars. Even Twin Lakes Elementary School, just 3 miles away with similar demographics and spending, outperforms Garwood by roughly 19 points in math and 11 points in ELA. Only Northwest Expedition Academy scores lower, despite having more than double Garwood's poverty rate.

Chronic absenteeism is a likely factor. At 17.4%, Garwood's rate is well above the district (12.4%) and state (13.8%) averages — and it jumped from 9.4% the previous year. This attendance spike coincides with steep one-year drops in both math (from 49.8% to 39.5%) and ELA (from 56.7% to 46.7%). Garwood spends $8,431 per student, comparable to higher-performing Twin Lakes, and its 23.4% free/reduced-price lunch rate is lower than several schools that outperform it. That combination of resources and demographics suggests the school's struggles are tied to factors like attendance and instruction rather than poverty alone.