The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in English language arts. The lowest is 61% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Manhattan Elem
Manhattan Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the small Gallatin County town of Manhattan. The school is part of the Manhattan School District, which also includes a middle and high school within the same community. Manhattan itself is a predominantly agricultural town with deep Dutch farming roots, known for seed potatoes, dairy, wheat, and cattle operations. It sits within the Bozeman micropolitan area, meaning some families commute to Bozeman for work while others are tied to local agriculture and cottage businesses. The town has grown substantially in recent decades, and the housing market reflects the pressure of that growth, with home values well above the national median and a limited supply of homes for sale relative to demand.
The student body at Manhattan Elementary is relatively small for a K-5 school and is predominantly white. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is in line with many rural Montana schools serving agricultural communities. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials, so a parent with a child who may need either type of support should ask the school directly about its programs and staffing in those areas.
Academic results are a clear strength. On the state's Smarter Balanced assessments, proficiency rates in both math and English language arts are above what is typical across Gallatin County districts, placing the school in the top quarter of that comparison set. Science results, measured by the Montana Science Assessment, also show strong performance. These numbers reflect the school's work with its tested grades, third through fifth, and suggest that students are generally meeting grade-level expectations at a rate well above the county median. A parent looking at these results can feel confident that the core academic instruction is sound.
Because the school serves only through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the data did not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing ratios. Course access and program offerings beyond the standard elementary curriculum were also absent from the available information, so it is not possible to describe enrichment, specials, or extracurricular options from the data at hand. Families interested in arts, music, physical education, or before- and after-school care would need to follow up with the school directly.
The district itself did not have any recent major changes, such as bond measures, boundary shifts, or curriculum overhauls, that met the bar for inclusion in the available research. That may simply mean operations have been steady, or it may reflect limited public documentation. Either way, a parent should not assume a lack of activity, only that nothing large enough to last four years was found.
Manhattan Elementary is a strong academic fit for a family seeking a small-town, rural elementary school with above-average test results and a student body that is fairly homogeneous. The town is not a walkable, amenity-rich suburb; it is a working agricultural community where schools are integrated into the town center and daily life tends to be car-dependent. The housing market is expensive relative to national averages, consistent with the broader Gallatin County boom. A family considering this school should weigh the academic track record against the limitations of what the data does not show about enrichment, student support services, and classroom resources.
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