The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Power School
Power School is a small public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in the unincorporated community of Power, Montana, roughly a half-hour drive northwest of Great Falls along Interstate 15. The school is the elementary campus of the Power Elementary School District and operates on a shared campus with the district's upper grades. For a family considering this school, the most important context is size: the entire school enrolls fewer than fifty students across all grade levels. That scale defines nearly every aspect of the experience a child and parent would have here.
The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students and a smaller number of American Indian students. Just under half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places the school in the middle range for economic need compared to other districts in Teton County. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available from the source used, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are served.
Academically, the picture is limited by the school's small size. State testing results for math and English language arts in the 2023-24 school year show a proficiency rate of zero percent among tested students, though the number of students tested was also zero, which is an unusual combination. The most plausible explanation is that very few students took the assessments in those subjects in tested grades, which can happen in a small school where a particular grade has no students or where participation fell below reporting thresholds. Science testing results were suppressed by the state due to the small number of test-takers, a common practice when reporting could identify individual students. The school's overall proficiency index, a combined measure across tested subjects, placed it in the bottom quartile among Teton County districts. Because the school serves only early grades, there is no graduation rate to consider.
What this means for a parent is straightforward. Power School offers a classic rural elementary experience: very small class sizes, a single campus that serves as the community's hub, and a setting where teachers and families know each other well. The building is located on a highway-adjacent road in a community with no downtown, so the school itself is the primary gathering place. The housing market in Power's ZIP code shows home values above both the state and national medians, with recent appreciation, though the community's population has been stable for decades with no sign of new development or growth pressure. Parents commuting to Great Falls for work would face a daily round trip of roughly forty-five minutes.
The district's recent history shows no major changes such as bond measures, leadership turnover, or new programming. This is a district that has been operating quietly and consistently within its established pattern. For a family that values a small, stable, rural school where a child is known individually and where the academic expectations and peer group are shaped by a tight-knit community, Power School fits that profile directly. A family focused on broad academic programming, large peer groups for social development, or measurable above-average test performance would likely find the school too small to meet those preferences. The lack of meaningful state assessment data is itself a feature of the school's size, not necessarily a signal of quality, but it does mean that parents have less external benchmarking to rely on when evaluating academic progress.
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