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Helena P.A.L.

Public Grades 9-12

151^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 182 Montana High Schools

Better than 17% of Montana high schools

Summary

Helena P.A.L. is a public high school located in Helena, Montana, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 58 students. The school is part of the Helena High School District, which is ranked 188 out of 387 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Helena P.A.L. is located within the same district as the higher-performing Helena High School and Capital High School, its academic performance lags significantly behind these schools. For example, in 2024-2025, only 25.93% of Helena P.A.L. students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 59.08% at Helena High School and 54.99% statewide. The school's performance in Mathematics (6.9% proficient) and Science (20.69% proficient) is also well below the district and state averages. Additionally, Helena P.A.L. has a much higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch at 55.17%, compared to 31.36% at Helena High School and 27.69% at Capital High School.

Another school in the district, Mount Ascension Learning Ac High School, is a public virtual high school with similar enrollment to Helena P.A.L. This school also performs poorly on the ACT exams, with only 50% proficient in English Language Arts and 0% proficient in Mathematics, indicating that the virtual learning environment may be a contributing factor to the low academic achievement. However, Helena P.A.L.'s low student-teacher ratio of 8.1 could be an advantage, as it may allow for more individualized attention and support for students, though this advantage does not appear to be translating into improved academic outcomes.

Students ?

8.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

55.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1325 Poplar Street
Helena, MT 59601

(406) 324-2000

District: Helena High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

79.3%

Two or more races:

8.6%

Hispanic:

5.2%

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At a glance

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 8 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Montana average (18% vs 39% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (17th percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 29 pts below the Montana average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school18%

District avg45%

Montana avg39%

151^st of 182

Montana public high schools ?

Bottom 17%

See the entire ranking list of Montana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

188^th of 387Helena High School among Montana districts

By subject vs Montana (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts26%-29 vs state

Science21%-9 vs state

Mathematics7%-24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Helena P.A.L.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ACT with Writing English Language Arts (2025)	ACT with Writing Mathematics (2025)	ACT with Writing Science (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	ACT with Writing English Language Arts 11th Grade	ACT with Writing Mathematics 11th Grade	ACT with Writing Science 11th Grade	Total
Mount Ascension Learning Ac High School	Public, Virtual	9-12	1325 Poplar Street	Helena	59601	Lewis and Clark County	Helena High School	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(406) 324-2000	43	1	29.6	39.5%	35 (81.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (7.0%)	29.7	140^th of 182 public high schools	23.1%					(n/a)	50.0	0.0	16.7
Helena P.A.L.	Public	9-12	1325 Poplar Street	Helena	59601	Lewis and Clark County	Helena High School	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(406) 324-2000	58	7	8.1	55.2%	46 (79.3%)	1 (1.7%)	3 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.4%)	1 (1.7%)	5 (8.6%)	22.8	151^st of 182 public high schools	17.0%					(n/a)	25.9	6.9	20.7
Helena High School	Public	9-12	1300 Billings Avenue	Helena	59601	Lewis and Clark County	Helena High School	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 324-2200	979	63	15.5	31.4%	818 (83.6%)	15 (1.5%)	61 (6.2%)	12 (1.2%)	22 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (5.2%)	80.4	20^th of 182 public high schools	89.0%		65.1	22^nd of 122 public high schools	82.0%	2	61.1	45.8	38.4	$13,957
Capital High School	Public	9-12	100 Valley Drive	Helena	59601	Lewis and Clark County	Helena High School	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 324-2500	1,293	79	16.2	27.7%	1,130 (87.4%)	13 (1.0%)	70 (5.4%)	15 (1.2%)	18 (1.4%)	2 (0.2%)	45 (3.5%)	76.7	26^th of 182 public high schools	85.7%		65.8	19^th of 122 public high schools	84.4%	7	60.8	39.6	37.3	$12,877
227 Academy- High School	Public	9-12	2760 Valley Dr	East Helena	59635	Lewis and Clark County	East Helena K-12	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(406) 227-7700	59	5	12.9	61.0%	50 (84.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (10.2%)	21.2	152^nd of 182 public high schools	16.5%					(n/a)	33.3	11.1	11.1
East Helena High School	Public	9-12	2760 Valley Drive	East Helena	59635	Lewis and Clark County	East Helena K-12	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 227-7700	563	26	21.9	33.9%	476 (84.5%)	1 (0.2%)	41 (7.3%)	3 (0.5%)	11 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	30 (5.3%)	63.5	66^th of 182 public high schools	63.7%		43.2	64^th of 122 public high schools	47.5%	2	59.4	29.6	29.6	$10,352

Frequently Asked Questions about Helena P.A.L.

What district is Helena P.A.L. in?

Helena High School

How many students attend Helena P.A.L.?

In the 2024-25 school year, 58 students attended Helena P.A.L..

What is the racial makeup of Helena P.A.L.?

Students at Helena P.A.L. are 79% White, 9% Two or more races, 5% Hispanic, 3% American Indian, 2% African American, 2% Pacific Islander.

Is Helena P.A.L. a good school?

Helena P.A.L. ranks in the bottom 17.0% of Montana high schools.

Rate Helena P.A.L.!

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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.