Summary:
Zip code 83833 encompasses two public schools in the small, rural community of Harrison, Idaho: Harrison Elementary School and Kootenai Junior/Senior High School, both part of the Kootenai District and sharing the same physical campus. Together these schools serve just 213 students in grades PK through 12, with the junior/senior high school housing both middle and high school grades (6-12) since there is no standalone middle school in the area.
Harrison Elementary School is the clear academic standout, posting exceptional math and ELA proficiency rates of 81.6% and 87.5% — far above the state averages of 43.1% and 54.0%. It also outperforms its own district averages by wide margins and achieves these results despite having a higher free/reduced lunch rate (41.2%) than the high school. In sharp contrast, Kootenai Junior/Senior High School trails the state in both math (36.7%) and ELA (52.1%), and its state ranking has declined from a 96th-percentile, 5-star ranking in 2012-2013 to a 3-star, 63rd-percentile ranking today.
The most striking finding is the dramatic academic drop-off between these two schools — a 44.9-point gap in math and a 35.4-point gap in ELA — despite the high school having a lower student-teacher ratio (11.1 vs. 15.1) and slightly higher per-student spending ($19,682 vs. $19,352). Chronic absenteeism at the high school (22.1%) is nearly double the elementary school's rate (12.1%) and well above the state rate, which likely contributes to the decline. The high school does have one bright spot in science (55.2% proficiency vs. 42.6% statewide), but its graduation rate (82.5%) merely matches the state and district averages. Given the very small enrollment at both schools, proficiency percentages can shift dramatically with just a few students, so families should interpret these figures with that volatility in mind.
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