Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 83877

In Idaho's zip code 83877, there are two elementary schools serving grades PK–5: Ponderosa Elementary School and Seltice Elementary School, both part of the Post Falls District, which is rated 3 stars and ranks in the 66th percentile of Idaho districts.

If you're comparing the two schools, Ponderosa Elementary School is the stronger academic performer overall. It has a better state rank (176th vs. 189th) and higher all-grades math proficiency (49.6% vs. 46.0%). It also beats Seltice in 4th-grade math and ELA, and its 5th-grade math scores, while not stellar, hold up far better. This is especially noteworthy because Ponderosa faces more challenges: 59.2% of its students qualify for free/reduced lunch (vs. 47.2% at Seltice), it has higher chronic absenteeism, a larger student-teacher ratio, and less spending per student. Yet it still achieves stronger math results. Meanwhile, Seltice Elementary School is the most-improved school, jumping from a 259th state rank last year to 189th and from a 1-star to a 2-star rating. Its all-grades ELA proficiency surged by 12.6 points. However, Seltice has a serious red flag: 5th-grade math proficiency crashes to just 28.2%, down from 61.2% in 3rd grade, a 33-point drop that far exceeds the district and state trends.

Both schools share common weaknesses. Neither keeps pace with typical upper-elementary reading growth: while the district and state see 5th-grade ELA scores rise above 3rd-grade levels, both Ponderosa and Seltice actually decline. Science is also a consistent concern, with both schools scoring well below the district (45.8%) and state (44.0%) in 5th-grade science. Additionally, even though Seltice spends about $1,600 more per student and has smaller class sizes, those advantages don't reliably translate into better test scores. Ponderosa and Seltice both sit near the state median for elementary schools, so there's room for improvement in both. For parents, Ponderosa offers more consistent academics under tougher conditions, while Seltice is improving quickly but needs to address its upper-elementary math transition and science instruction.