The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in Science. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Frenchtown Intermediate School
Frenchtown Intermediate School serves fourth and fifth graders in the Frenchtown K-12 Schools district, a unified system covering the unincorporated community of Frenchtown in Missoula County. The school sits along the I-90 corridor about sixteen miles northwest of Missoula, in an area that grew rapidly in the 2000s before stabilizing. The community is primarily residential with a high homeownership rate, and its commercial and civic life is distributed along the highway frontage rather than clustered in a walkable downtown. The closure of a major paper mill removed a dominant employer and taxpayer, and the mill site remains under EPA Superfund cleanup. Frenchtown's role today is largely that of a bedroom community for Missoula, and the school is one of the district's anchor institutions.
Frenchtown Intermediate is a small school, as you would expect for a two-grade building serving just those two years. The student body is predominantly white. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. State testing data for the most recent year shows a mixed picture. In math, about two out of five students scored at the proficient level or above on the Smarter Balanced assessment. In English language arts, the figure was just over half of students reaching that bar. Science results, from a different state assessment, were similar to English language arts, with just over half of tested students scoring proficient or above. Compared to other schools in Missoula County, Frenchtown Intermediate's overall proficiency across tested subjects sits above the midpoint of the comparison group. That is a solid position, though it is important to note that the range across the county's districts runs from well below this school to a bit above it.
Because this is an intermediate school serving only fourth and fifth grades, there is no data on high school outcomes such as graduation rate, and no data on chronic absenteeism. Those metrics simply do not apply here. The school's grade band also means that program offerings common at the high school level, such as Advanced Placement, career and technical education pathways, or dual credit, are not part of its mission. The data available did not include information on discipline, staffing ratios, or course access within the building, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about class sizes, enrichment opportunities, and the specific academic interventions in place.
The district itself did not have any major recent changes or strategic priorities surfaced in the available material, so that context is absent rather than concerning. The community context is worth noting: Frenchtown's housing values have risen substantially, mirroring broader trends in the Missoula area, and the typical home now commands a price well above the national median. The area is auto-dependent, with I-90 providing the main link to Missoula and its amenities, including the nearest airport. Frenchtown Pond State Park and the Missoula Public Library branch provide local recreational and civic anchors, but daily life for most residents involves a commute. For a family considering this school, the practical picture is of a small, community-grounded intermediate school serving the upper elementary grades in a rural-residential setting, with academic proficiency that is respectable relative to its county peers but with clear room for growth in math in particular. The school fits families who value a small-scale, local school within a unified district that keeps students in the same system from kindergarten through twelfth grade, and who are comfortable with the commuting and highway-dependent character of the broader community.
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