The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in English language arts. The lowest is 47% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hawthorne School
Hawthorne School is a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade elementary school within the Missoula Elem district, located in the city of Missoula, Montana. For families considering this school, the picture is one of a solidly performing neighborhood elementary school set in a mid-sized university city that has grown steadily and shifted from a lumber-based economy toward education, healthcare, and services. The school serves a substantial number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and its academic results, while above average among peers in the county, still leave a meaningful share of students below the proficient mark.
Missoula itself blends a university-town character with a lively downtown, riverfront parks, and a backdrop of steep hills. The University of Montana campus sits near the city center, contributing to a pedestrian-friendly core. The city’s largest employers are the university, the public schools, and its hospitals. Housing in the school’s ZIP code is valued well above state and national benchmarks, and rents are similarly elevated, a reality that will factor into any family’s decision about living in this attendance area.
Academically, Hawthorne’s proficiency rates on the state’s Smarter Balanced assessments place it in the top quartile of schools **relative to districts in Missoula County** when combining results across tested subjects and grades. In both math and English language arts, roughly half of students scored at the proficient or advanced level, and in science the figure was a bit below half. These are solid results for a broad-based elementary school, but they also mean that a considerable number of students are not yet meeting state standards. Given that the school does not serve grades beyond fifth, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and staffing were not available in the materials reviewed.
The school’s enrollment draws from a student body where the vast majority of students are white, with a smaller but notable population of American Indian or Alaska Native students, and smaller shares of Hispanic, Asian, Black, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with significant economic diversity.
A parent looking at Hawthorne will want to know how the school’s academic performance tracks for specific groups of students. The available data does not break out proficiency by race, income, or special education status, so a family with a child who has an individualized education program or who is an English learner may want to ask the school directly about those outcomes. The district has recently adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum based on the science of reading, which represents a notable shift in instructional approach and may affect how reading is taught at Hawthorne going forward.
The broader district context is also relevant. In May 2024, voters approved an elementary general fund levy to support student mental health, class size, and curriculum, following a failed levy the year before. This provides a source of ongoing funding for the elementary schools in the district, including Hawthorne. The district has also developed a strategic plan covering the period through 2030, focusing on academic excellence, whole-child wellness, and community engagement.
For a family, the question is less whether Hawthorne is a good school in an absolute sense and more whether it fits. The academic results are above average among the county’s elementary schools, but not dramatically so, and the economic diversity of the student body may be a factor some families value and others want to understand more deeply. The housing market in Missoula is expensive, and the school’s ZIP code carries a home-value premium relative to the state and nation, so affordability is a real constraint. The city itself offers a vibrant downtown, ample parkland, and a university presence, which some families will see as assets and others as a trade-off for quieter suburban settings. The absence of data on discipline, course access, and attendance means a parent may need to visit or speak with the school to get a full picture of day-to-day climate and support.
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