The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Science. The lowest is 0% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Kennedy School
Kennedy School is an elementary school in Butte, Montana, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is part of the Butte Elem district and operates as a neighborhood school in a city defined by its copper mining heritage, wide-open geography, and a landscape that still bears the marks of its industrial past. The school itself is located in the north-central part of Butte, and it draws from a community where the mining economy and environmental remediation projects continue to shape daily life.
The student body at Kennedy is small. Most students identify as white, with smaller groups identifying as Hispanic, two or more races, or American Indian. Every student who attends qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a sign that the school serves a population facing significant economic hardship. That level of poverty is rare even in districts with lower median incomes, and it means the school must often address basic needs alongside academic ones.
State testing data for Kennedy is incomplete and requires some interpretation. For math and English, the reported results show that no students in the tested grades were assessed that year, so there is no proficiency information for those subjects. The reason is not clear from the data alone. In science, where a group of students did take the Montana Science Assessment, about two-fifths of them scored at the proficient level or above. That is a mixed result—better than a zero, but still modest—and it is the only academic performance metric available for the school.
When compared to other districts across Silver Bow County, Kennedy’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects lands in the bottom quartile. That ranking, however, is based on just two data points from the county, and it reflects the fact that only the science results contributed to the school’s index because math and English were untested. Parents who want a clearer picture of how Kennedy’s students are progressing in reading and mathematics should ask the school directly about classroom assessments and local benchmarks.
Because Kennedy ends at sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to consider, and there are no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline. The school does not offer high school programs such as Advanced Placement or career pathways, which is normal for an elementary building. Information on staffing, class sizes, and special education services was not available in the records examined, so families may want to request those details from the school office.
Butte itself provides the context for the school. The city is a consolidated city-county government with a population that makes it the fifth-largest in Montana. It is a place where historic brick buildings crowd the Uptown district, the Berkeley Pit sits adjacent to residential areas, and Montana Technological University brings a modest academic and research presence. Major employers include Montana Resources mining operations, the university, and the local hospital. Home prices in the area are well below the state median, and rents have been rising but remain relatively manageable compared to the national average. The economy is not booming, but it is stable, with an unemployment rate close to the national figure.
For a parent considering Kennedy School, the picture is one of a small, high-poverty elementary school in a historic but economically modest city. The academic data is too thin to draw firm conclusions about student achievement, but the available science results and the school’s position relative to other local districts suggest there is room for growth. The immediate questions to pursue with the school would be how reading and math instruction are structured, what interventions are available for students who are behind, and how the school supports families given the near-universal poverty among its student body. It is a school that likely demands strong partnership between home and classroom, and where the broader community’s industrial legacy and environmental challenges are part of the fabric of childhood.
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