Original Research by School Decision on Saco Elem
Saco Elem is a small, rural school district in Phillips County, Montana, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The district comprises two schools: Saco School and Saco 7-8. With an enrollment that is small, the student body is predominantly white, with a very small share of Hispanic students and an even smaller share of students who identify as two or more races. The district serves no American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black, or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students according to the reported data. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available, which is a gap a family may want to explore directly with the school.
Because the district does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate. State testing data for math and English language arts was suppressed in the most recent school year, meaning the number of students tested was too small to report publicly. No science assessment data was available either. The state changed both the name of its assessment and the cut scores for math and English language arts that year, making it difficult to compare to prior years. For a district of this size, where tested cohorts are very small, state test results are often withheld, and the numbers that do exist are not directly comparable to larger districts. A parent looking for academic performance measures will find little here to go on from the state; the best path is to contact the school for information on how students are progressing.
The chronic absenteeism rate for the district stands above the midpoint among Phillips County’s districts. The per-pupil current spending falls in the middle range, on the lower half, when compared to the other districts in the county. No data on discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance was available.
The housing market in the area served by the district is anchored by the town of Saco, where home values are notably lower than the national median. Across the three ZIP codes that contribute to the district’s weighted home value, Saco’s own ZIP code carries the most weight. Values there have held roughly steady in recent years. The typical home in the district is well below the state average for Montana, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home would be moderate. The national median household income context suggests housing in this area is relatively affordable compared to much of the country.
Phillips County is a rural, sparsely populated part of northeastern Montana. A search of publicly reported sources found no recent parent-relevant changes, such as bond measures, program closures, or leadership turnover, for this very small district. That absence of news is itself a characteristic of a district that operates quietly.
This district fits families who want a very small, rural setting with a single school pathway through eighth grade, and who are comfortable with the limited public data on academic performance that comes with such a small student population. Parents whose children will need to attend high school elsewhere will need to plan for that transition, as Saco Elem does not serve those grades. Anyone weighing a move here should reach out to the school directly for the classroom picture the state numbers cannot provide.
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