Donnelly Elementary

Donnelly Elementary is a small public school in Donnelly, Idaho, serving 156 students in grades PK-5 under the highly rated McCall-Donnelly Joint School District, which ranks 4th out of 101 districts in Idaho. Donnelly Elementary itself earns a 4-star rating and ranks 48th out of 346 elementary schools statewide (86th percentile). Academically, Donnelly is a strong performer: 64.4% of students are proficient in math versus 43.1% statewide, and 75.6% are proficient in English Language Arts versus 54.0% statewide. With a student-teacher ratio of just 12.7:1, the school offers a level of personalized attention that larger schools cannot match.

Compared with nearby schools, Donnelly stands out in reading. Its ELA proficiency of 75.6% surpasses Barbara R Morgan Elementary by 3.4 points, Cascade Elementary by 21.3 points, and Council Elementary by a remarkable 50.9 points. Math proficiency trails only Barbara R Morgan (64.4% vs. 67.5%). About 37.2% of Donnelly students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — a higher rate than Barbara R Morgan's 27.5% but lower than Council (42.4%) and Cascade (43.7%). This makes Donnelly's strong test scores, particularly in ELA, especially notable given its higher-need student population.

The school's main challenge is chronic absenteeism. At 27.4%, it is nearly double the state rate of 13.8% and similar to Barbara R Morgan (27.3%) and Mountain Community School (31.1%). Science is also a relative weakness: only 51.9% of 5th graders are proficient, below the district's 58.9%. While Donnelly's statewide rank has eased from its 5th-place showing in 2011-2012, it remains one of the stronger elementary options in the McCall-Donnelly area, delivering consistently solid academics in a small, supportive environment.