The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in English language arts. The lowest is 48% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kendrick Joint District
Kendrick Joint District sits in Latah County, Idaho, serving the small farming communities of Kendrick and Juliaetta along the Potlatch River corridor. The district covers a rural stretch where housing values run below the Idaho state benchmark, with typical home prices clustered in the lower-to-mid range for the region. A modest year-over-year increase in values suggests a quiet but appreciating market. The estimated mortgage burden sits above five times the national price-to-income ratio, which points to a community where homeownership stretches local incomes, though the cost of living remains well below what a family would face in Idaho's larger metro areas. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as tax shifts, curriculum overhauls, or bond referendums, so there is little to report on that front.
The district operates two schools: Juliaetta Elementary serves the early grades, and Kendrick Junior/Senior High picks up the upper grade band through graduation. Total enrollment across both buildings is small, which defines much of the educational experience here. Class sizes are intimate, and the peer group a child grows up with stays largely the same from year to year. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with only a handful of students identifying as Hispanic, multiracial, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Black. Whether that homogeneity is a comfort or a limitation depends on what a family wants from a peer environment. The district's small scale means a child will likely be known by name by most staff, but it also means fewer specialized offerings, fewer electives, and fewer social pockets to find a niche in.
Academically, reading the state testing picture requires patience. Idaho's ISAT results for the most recent year show that many grade-level proficiency rates were suppressed or reported only as broad ranges, a common situation in very small districts where a handful of students either way swings the percentage dramatically. Where exact figures were available, they paint a middling picture. About half of eighth graders reached proficiency in math, and a similar share hit that mark in English language arts. Third grade ELA results were slightly above that level. The range data for other grades suggests that performance varies widely, with upper bounds in some grades reaching well above state averages but lower bounds near zero, reflecting the volatility that comes with tiny cohorts. Science results followed the same pattern, reported as ranges rather than fixed values. A parent looking for a clear, stable read on academic outcomes may want to ask the district directly how students are progressing year to year, since the published state data is too coarse to draw firm conclusions.
Several data fields that parents often rely on were missing entirely. Free and reduced-price lunch counts were not reported, so the economic profile of the student body cannot be characterized from the available data. Special education and English learner rates were also absent. No civil rights data, course access information, staffing figures, or program offerings were provided. Locale classification was not assigned. These gaps are consistent with a very small rural district where state reporting systems often do not capture the full picture, but they do leave a parent without some of the comparative context available for larger districts.
What a family gets in Kendrick Joint District is a close-knit, rural schooling experience. The two-school structure means students stay in one system from preschool through senior year. The housing market is accessible by Idaho standards, and the communities are quiet. What is harder to assess from the outside is academic rigor and program breadth, not because the district lacks effort, but because the data is too thin and too volatile to read confidently. Families considering a move here should visit, talk to teachers and the principal, and ask directly about what the junior-senior high offers for college preparation and career pathways, since that information did not surface in the available records.
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