Missoula Elementary

Summary:

The Missoula Elementary school district in Montana serves 14 schools, including 10 elementary schools and 4 middle schools, and is ranked 165 out of 387 districts in the state. The district as a whole is rated 3 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Within the district, a few schools stand out as top performers. Paxson School is consistently ranked among the top 30 elementary schools in Montana, with a 5-star rating and the highest proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science compared to the district and state averages. Rattlesnake Elementary School and Jeannette Rankin Elementary also rank among the top 50 elementary schools in the state and have 4-star ratings. On the other hand, Lowell School and Missoula TEACH Academy stand out as the lowest-performing schools in the district, with proficiency rates well below the district and state averages.

The district's overall performance is generally stronger than the state averages, with average proficiency rates of 50.06% in English Language Arts, 43.84% in Mathematics, and 49.14% in Science, compared to the state averages of 43.09%, 36.77%, and 38.16%, respectively. However, there is a wide range in school performance within the district, and the lower-performing schools face challenges related to factors such as higher free/reduced lunch rates.

District Detail

909 South Ave West
Missoula, MT 59801

(406) 728-2400

SchoolDigger Rank:
165^th of 387 Montana districts

See the 2025 Montana District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-8
Students: 5,293

Primary Schools: 10
Middle Schools: 4
High Schools: 0
Alternative Schools: 0

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAST English Language Arts (2025)	MAST Mathematics (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAST English Language Arts All Grades	MAST Mathematics All Grades	Total
Chief Charlo School	Public	PK, KG-5	5600 Longview Dr	Missoula	59803	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 542-4005	414	26	15.6	39.4%	348 (84.1%)	6 (1.4%)	24 (5.8%)	7 (1.7%)	9 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.8%)	61.8	143^rd of 401 public elementary schools	64.3%		80.5	40^th of 212 public elementary schools	81.1%	103	45.7	42.9	$14,681
Porter Middle School	Public	6-8	2510 Central Avenue	Missoula	59804	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 542-4060	579	37	15.5	57.5%	450 (77.7%)	21 (3.6%)	34 (5.9%)	18 (3.1%)	48 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.4%)	35.4	153^rd of 222 public middle schools	31.1%		49.2	58^th of 123 public middle schools	52.8%	95	34.6	25.6	$13,509
Jeannette Rankin Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5150 Bigfork Rd.	Missoula	59803	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 542-4010	457	26	17.5	26.5%	407 (89.1%)	6 (1.3%)	14 (3.1%)	11 (2.4%)	8 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.4%)	80.6	50^th of 401 public elementary schools	87.5%		94.1	10^th of 212 public elementary schools	95.3%	40	58.0	60.4	$12,695
Franklin School	Public	PK, KG-5	1910 S. 11th St	Missoula	59801	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 542-4020	274	23	11.9	80.3%	197 (71.9%)	12 (4.4%)	32 (11.7%)	5 (1.8%)	15 (5.5%)	1 (0.4%)	12 (4.4%)	34.6	277^th of 401 public elementary schools	30.9%		63	89^th of 212 public elementary schools	58.0%	188	32.6	25.2	$16,619
Hawthorne School	Public	PK, KG-5	550 Hiberta St.	Missoula	59804	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 542-4025	417	29	14.1	53.5%	329 (78.9%)	3 (0.7%)	14 (3.4%)	10 (2.4%)	28 (6.7%)	2 (0.5%)	31 (7.4%)	58.4	164^th of 401 public elementary schools	59.1%		74.4	63^rd of 212 public elementary schools	70.3%	101	45.5	42.4	$15,622
Lewis & Clark School	Public	PK, KG-5	2901 Park	Missoula	59801	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 542-4035	429	28	15.1	32.2%	361 (84.1%)	7 (1.6%)	19 (4.4%)	4 (0.9%)	21 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.0%)	70.6	95^th of 401 public elementary schools	76.3%		82.4	31^st of 212 public elementary schools	85.4%	64	54.3	45.7	$13,535
Lowell School	Public	PK, KG-5	1215 Phillips St	Missoula	59802	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 542-4040	354	24	14.7	86.4%	275 (77.7%)	19 (5.4%)	10 (2.8%)	3 (0.8%)	27 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.6%)	30.8	297^th of 401 public elementary schools	25.9%		45.2	131^st of 212 public elementary schools	38.2%	166	28.5	28.3	$15,776
Meadow Hill Middle School	Public	6-8	4210 Reserve	Missoula	59803	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 542-4045	414	27	15.1	40.3%	346 (83.6%)	10 (2.4%)	25 (6.0%)	9 (2.2%)	16 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)	60.9	78^th of 222 public middle schools	64.9%		67.9	36^th of 123 public middle schools	70.7%	42	49.3	41.2	$15,062
Paxson School	Public	PK, KG-5	101 Evans	Missoula	59801	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 542-4055	415	26	16.1	37.6%	316 (76.1%)	7 (1.7%)	33 (8.0%)	2 (0.5%)	37 (8.9%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (4.6%)	86.1	30^th of 401 public elementary schools	92.5%		92.8	15^th of 212 public elementary schools	92.9%	15	65.3	57.8	$13,237
Rattlesnake Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1220 Pineview Drive	Missoula	59802	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 542-4050	393	25	15.8	31.8%	341 (86.8%)	3 (0.8%)	25 (6.4%)	5 (1.3%)	8 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.8%)	81.8	45^th of 401 public elementary schools	88.8%		95.7	6^th of 212 public elementary schools	97.2%	39	62.6	53.4	$12,614
Russell School	Public	PK, KG-5	3216 Russell Street	Missoula	59801	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 542-4080	375	28	13.5	55.2%	290 (77.3%)	2 (0.5%)	31 (8.3%)	8 (2.1%)	23 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.6%)	64.2	131^st of 401 public elementary schools	67.3%		81.5	37^th of 212 public elementary schools	82.5%	94	50.3	46.5	$14,546
Washington Middle School	Public	6-8	645 West Central Ave	Missoula	59801	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 542-4085	669	41	16.3	29.4%	578 (86.4%)	9 (1.3%)	30 (4.5%)	13 (1.9%)	28 (4.2%)	2 (0.3%)	9 (1.3%)	81.1	22^nd of 222 public middle schools	90.1%		74.2	26^th of 123 public middle schools	78.9%	4	63.4	55.8	$12,496
Missoula TEACH Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	909 South Ave West	Missoula	59803	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(406) 728-2400	84	5	16.8	69.0%	51 (60.7%)	8 (9.5%)	4 (4.8%)	13 (15.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (9.5%)	27.3	318^th of 401 public elementary schools	20.7%					(n/a)	22.7	33.3
Missoula Connect Academy Middle School	Public, Virtual	6-8	909 South Avenue West	Missoula	59803	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(406) 728-2400	19	2	9.5	31.6%	17 (89.5%)	1 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (5.3%)	17.5	195^th of 222 public middle schools	12.2%					(n/a)	23.1	6.7

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Missoula High School	2.19 mi	5	119^th
Lolo Elementary	3.08 mi	2	238^th
Target Range Elementary	3.08 mi	2	69^th
Hellgate Elementary	5.26 mi	4	118^th
Bonner Elementary	8.29 mi	2	257^th

See the top MT Montana districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.