Summary:
Zip code 83549 is served by a single elementary school, Riggins Elementary School, which enrolls 92 students in grades PK through 5 as part of the Salmon River Joint School District. This is a high-poverty rural school, with 68.48% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. The school maintains a notably small class size with an 11.5-to-1 student-teacher ratio and spends approximately $20,090 per student, indicating a strong resource investment despite its isolated location.
As the only elementary school in the area, Riggins Elementary is the sole standout by default, though its performance is mixed. The school ranks 260th out of 346 Idaho elementary schools (25th percentile) and holds a 1-star rating for 2025-2026. In 2025-2026, all-grades math proficiency was 37%, below both the district (39.3%) and state (43.1%), while English Language Arts proficiency also sat at 37% — well below the district's 51.2% and the state's 54%. However, 4th grade students scored 44.4% in both math and ELA, exceeding the school-wide averages by 7.4 points in each subject. Fifth-grade science proficiency was 31.3%, identical to the district average but 12.7 points below the state's 44%, pointing to a district-wide challenge in science.
The most notable finding is the sharp year-over-year decline in math. In 2024-2025, Riggins Elementary posted a strong 51.4% math proficiency rate, well above district and state averages, only to fall to 37% in 2025-2026 — a swing likely magnified by the small enrollment, where one cohort can heavily influence results. Chronic absenteeism stands at 15.7%, which is higher than the state's 13.8% but lower than the district's 18.5%. Historically, the school has improved from the 18th percentile in 2012-2013 to the 25th percentile in 2025-2026, yet it remains below its 39th percentile peak and 2-star rating from 2011-2012. Overall, Riggins Elementary is a small, well-funded rural school that struggles most significantly in English Language Arts while showing pockets of strength in mathematics and 4th grade performance.
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