1. Home
  2. Montana
  3. Fort Smith
  4. Hardin Elementary
  5. Fort Smith School
Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Fort Smith School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
384th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 401 Montana Elementary Schools
Better than 4% of Montana elementary schools
Summary

Fort Smith School is a small elementary school in Fort Smith, MT, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of just 17 students. The school is part of the Hardin Elementary School District, which is ranked 373 out of 387 districts in Montana and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

One of the key factors that sets Fort Smith School apart is its extremely low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 5.0 to 7.3 over the past few years. This is significantly lower than the state average and suggests a high level of individual attention for students. However, the school also has a 100% free/reduced lunch rate, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population. Academically, Fort Smith School has consistently ranked in the bottom quartile of Montana elementary schools, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science well below the state averages.

The school's academic performance has been on a steady decline over the past decade, dropping from 201 out of 287 schools in 2014-2015 to 384 out of 401 schools in 2024-2025. This suggests that the school is struggling to keep up with the academic performance of other schools in the state, and the challenges faced by Fort Smith School are not unique to the school but are reflective of broader issues within the Hardin Elementary School District. Addressing the underlying factors, such as the high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, may be crucial for improving student outcomes at Fort Smith School.

17
Students ?
5.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$31,855
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 502 Avenue C
       Fort Smith, MT  59035

(406) 666-2350

District: Hardin Elementary


Students who attend Fort Smith School usually attend:

Middle:    Hardin Middle School
High:    Hardin High School
Racial breakdown:

American Indian:
100.0%
 See top rated Montana elementary schools

 Compare Fort Smith School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 11th percentile in 2010 → 4th in 2025
Strengths
✓Small classes — about 5 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Montana average (4% vs 40% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 7 percentile points since 2010
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school4%
District avg8%
Montana avg40%
384th of 401
Montana public elementary schools ?
Bottom 4%▼ down 26 pts since 2015
From bottom 30% (2015) to bottom 4% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Montana Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 3Elementary Schools in the Hardin Elementary
373rd of 387Hardin Elementary among Montana districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMontana percentileRating
20255.8384 of 4014.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20229.5307 of 3296.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202142.8237 of 35633.4%★★☆☆☆
201533.6201 of 28730.0%★★☆☆☆
201315.9212 of 24613.8%★☆☆☆☆
201216.0212 of 24413.1%★☆☆☆☆
201117.0216 of 24712.6%★☆☆☆☆
201013.6215 of 24110.8%★☆☆☆☆
By subject vs Montana (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts11%-32 vs state
Mathematics0%-37 vs state
Science0%-38 vs state

★
No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Fort Smith School and help other families decide.
Rate Fort Smith School
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.


Schools Near Fort Smith School








Frequently Asked Questions about Fort Smith School

Students at Fort Smith School are 100% American Indian.

Fort Smith School ranks in the bottom 4.2% of Montana elementary schools.

Students who attend Fort Smith School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Hardin Middle School
High : Hardin High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 17 students attended Fort Smith School.


Rate Fort Smith School!



Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...


Compare to nearby schools

MTMontana Elementary School Rankings

MTMontana District Rankings

Schools in Fort Smith, MT

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Fort Smith School!




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.




Diagnostics

None retrieved from Database in 32 milliseconds.