The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Rau School
Rau School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, making it the only school in the Rau Elementary district. It is located in the rural countryside outside Sidney, a small city in northeastern Montana that functions as a regional hub for farming, ranching, and oil and gas extraction tied to the Bakken Formation. The surrounding landscape is a mix of cropland, cattle operations, and energy sites. Sidney itself has experienced boom-and-bust cycles tied to oil activity, and its population has declined modestly in recent years. The closure of the Holly Sugar beet factory in 2023 was a notable economic loss for the area. The school sits away from Sidney's downtown, on a county road, and its setting is distinctly rural.
The school's enrollment is small, a size that is typical for a rural elementary school serving a sparsely populated area. The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic share and even smaller numbers of American Indian or multiracial students. About one in five students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is lower than what is often seen in rural districts in the region. This suggests that while the school draws from a working-class agricultural and energy economy, the immediate community served is not one of concentrated poverty.
On state assessments, Rau School's proficiency rates sit above the midpoint among the eleven districts in Richland County, landing in the top quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects. In math, roughly half of tested students scored at the proficient or advanced level, and in English language arts the rate was a bit lower. Science proficiency, based on a smaller test-taking group, was right around half. These are solid results for a small rural school, and they suggest that the academic foundation laid in the elementary grades is reasonably strong. Because the school only goes through sixth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and no data on postsecondary preparation or career pathways. Those choices come later, in Sidney's junior high and high school.
The data available does not include information on special education identification rates, English learner services, chronic absenteeism, or discipline. Families considering the school may want to ask the principal directly about how the school supports students with disabilities or those who need additional academic help, as well as how attendance and behavior are managed in a small setting. There is no information about course access or enrichment programs either, but given the grade band, the core focus is on foundational literacy, math, and science instruction.
Housing in the area around the school is moderately priced relative to the state and nation. Home values are somewhat below the Montana average but above the national median, and rents are relatively affordable in relation to incomes. This reflects the broader rural housing market in eastern Montana, where energy-sector volatility can affect home prices, but the overall cost of living remains lower than in the state's growing western cities.
Rau School operates as a traditional public school with no charter or magnet designation. The district is a single-school district, and no recent major changes such as referendums, curriculum shifts, or facility projects were found in publicly available sources. The school's stability is a point of continuity for local families.
For whom does this school fit? It suits families who want a very small, rural elementary school where their child will be known by a small staff and where academic performance is on par with or better than other schools in the county. It does not offer the scale of programming found in larger elementary schools, but for those who value a tight-knit setting and a focus on the basics, Rau School provides a straightforward option. The commute from Sidney is short, and the rural location means the school serves a community that is tied to agriculture and energy work. Parents who want transparency on student support services or enrichment opportunities will need to gather that information directly, as it is not available in published data.
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