Helena Elem, MT - District Data

Original Research by School Decision on Helena Elem

Helena Elementary School District serves the families of Montana’s capital city and its surrounding area, from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The district operates a dozen elementary schools and two middle schools, plus a Montessori charter school that is planned to open. Because it is an elementary-only district, students leave after eighth grade to attend high school in a separate district. That means there is no graduation rate to report here, and the academic picture is limited to the grades that state testing covers.

On the most recent state assessments, which the state administered under a new name and with adjusted cut scores that make year-to-year comparisons unreliable, the district’s results fell roughly near the middle among the handful of Lewis and Clark County districts that serve comparable grade spans. In English language arts, about half of students scored at the proficient level or above. In math, the share was lower, closer to two-fifths. Science results, from the year before, were near the half mark as well. The district’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint of the two county elementary districts that had enough data to be compared, though the range among them is narrow.

Chronic absenteeism is a more pressing concern. At a rate that places the district in the bottom quarter of the county’s districts, more than a third of students were absent on enough days to be considered chronically absent. That is a high figure, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school, both to understand the causes and to gauge how the district addresses attendance.

The student body is predominantly white, with a modest Hispanic population and a small share of students who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native. African American and Asian students make up very small percentages. The district does not report data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor on the number of students with disabilities or English learners, so it is not possible to say how the economic or special-education profile compares to other districts.

Housing costs in the Helena area have risen. Home values in the district’s coverage area are above both the state and national benchmarks, and rents have increased as well. A typical mortgage on a median-priced home would require a substantial monthly payment, while the estimated rent-to-income ratio is moderate. The area’s unemployment rate has been steady near the national figure, and median household income has ticked up in recent years. For a family moving to the area, the housing market is not an inexpensive one.

Per-pupil spending in the district lands in the lower half of the middle range among the county’s districts. That is not a judgment of quality, but it does indicate that the district operates on a budget that is typical for the region rather than especially high or low.

Because the district is limited to elementary and middle grades, parents of high-school-age students will need to look to the separate Helena High School District for that piece of the picture. For families with younger children, the district offers a network of neighborhood elementary schools and two middle schools, with a Montessori charter option on the horizon.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

5,173

Grades

PK–08

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 8%

Black 1%

White 84%

Asian 0%

Two+ 3%

Am. Indian / AK Native 3%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

Schools in this District

14 schools are officially reported under this district.

Kessler Elementary School

Broadwater School

Bryant School

Central School

Four Georgians School

C R Anderson Middle Schl

Helena Montessori Charter School

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

1 grade reported

39%

Grades 3-8

English Language Arts

1 grade reported

49%

Grades 3-8

Science

1 grade reported

49%

Grades 3-8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$496,589

Year-over-year change+2.9%

Range across 4 ZIP codes$430K to $530K

vs. state typical1.06x

vs. national typical1.35x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (4 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
59602	Helena	$530K	+2.8%	63.5%
59601	Helena	$437K	+3.1%	35.2%
59648	Wolf Creek	$465K	+5.6%	0.4%
59635	East Helena	$430K	+1.8%	0.0%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$1,837/mo

Year-over-year change+3.5%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$1,576 to $1,982/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
59602	Helena	$1,982	—	63.5%
59601	Helena	$1,576	+3.5%	35.2%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$2,506/mo

Home price / national median income5.9x

Annual rent / national median income26.3%

Est. mortgage exceeds rent by$669/mo

Comparison

State typical home value$467,919 (+1.3% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.