Best Public Schools in Zip Code 83615

Schools in zip code 83615 (Donnelly, Idaho) serve 224 students across just two schools, both elementary-level, with no middle or high school in the immediate area. Donnelly Elementary is a traditional public school within the highly rated McCall-Donnelly Joint School District, serving grades PK–5 with 156 students. Mountain Community School is a charter/independent school under McCall Community School Inc, serving grades K–8 with just 68 students. While both are classified as elementary, Mountain Community School's wider grade span fills a small gap for families seeking education beyond 5th grade without leaving the zip code.

Academically, Donnelly Elementary stands out as the stronger performer, with 64.4% math and 75.6% English Language Arts proficiency in 2025–2026, outpacing state averages by roughly 21 and 22 points, respectively. Mountain Community School is close to state averages (51.7% math, 55.2% ELA) and showed a dramatic one-year improvement, with math proficiency jumping from 26.1% to 51.7% and ELA from 41.3% to 55.2%. Donnelly's strength is consistent across grades in math, but its ELA proficiency declines from 81.1% in 3rd grade to 70.4% in 5th grade. A notable shared concern is chronic absenteeism: Donnelly sits at 27.4% and Mountain Community at 31.1%, both nearly double the state rate of 13.8%. This suggests that while present students are generally well-served, attendance is a community-wide challenge and a likely lever for further improvement.

Donnelly Elementary, despite still ranking in the 86th percentile statewide (4 stars), has slipped from its former 98th-percentile ranking nearly a decade ago, a relative decline rather than a drop in raw scores. Its science proficiency (51.9%) is only modestly above the state average (44%) and lags its own math and ELA performance, hinting at a subject-specific weakness. Mountain Community School's data gaps—no free/reduced lunch rate, spending per student, or ranking history—make direct resource comparisons difficult, and its small enrollment means test scores can fluctuate sharply. For parents, the zip code offers limited school choice, with two solid but different elementary options; families seeking secondary schools will need to look outside the area or rely on Mountain Community School's extended K–8 span.