The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in English language arts. The lowest is 44% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Sheridan Elementary Schl
Sheridan Elementary School sits at the center of a small, working agricultural town in Montana’s Ruby Valley, serving students from pre‑kindergarten through sixth grade. The school is the elementary arm of the Sheridan Elem district, and the school complex is integrated into the town’s compact, one‑square‑mile footprint, within easy reach of the downtown shops and galleries. For a family considering this school, the story begins with the place: Sheridan is a quiet, predominantly grain‑farming and ranching community where the local economy is grounded in agriculture and anchored by institutional employers such as Ruby Valley Hospital and the public schools. The town is seeing modest population growth, and the median age skews older, which shapes the peer environment a child experiences.
The student body at Sheridan Elementary is predominantly white, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch. The school’s total enrollment is modest for an elementary serving kindergarten through sixth grade; kindergarten is the largest single grade, which may reflect the area’s modest growth. State testing data is available for math, English language arts, and science, and the results paint a mixed picture. On the Smarter Balanced Assessment, proficiency rates in math and reading are within a range that places the school’s overall proficiency index in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Madison County. That is a soft spot, and a parent may want to ask the school about the specific strategies and supports in place to lift those numbers. Science, measured by a separate state science assessment, shows a similar pattern, though it is worth noting that the tested group for science is smaller, as science is not tested at every elementary grade.
The school offers a full pre‑kindergarten program, which is a meaningful support for working families and a potential boost for early literacy and school readiness. Because Sheridan Elementary serves only through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report; high school students attend Sheridan High School, which is a separate entity within the district. The district brief turned up no recent major changes such as bond measures, boundary shifts, or program overhauls, so the operational picture appears stable for now.
Housing in the area is priced above the national median, which is a factor for any family relocating here. The typical home value is higher than the national benchmark, and while the town remains affordable relative to parts of the state, the combination of rising home prices and a rural job market weighted toward agriculture and local services means housing choice may be a primary consideration.
This is a small, rural elementary school in a community with a clear agricultural identity and a modestly growing population. For a family that values a tight‑knit town setting, a walkable downtown, and outdoor recreation along the Ruby River or in the nearby Tobacco Root Mountains, Sheridan Elementary offers a straightforward elementary experience. The academic proficiency results are below the county median, and that is the central question a prospective family would want to explore directly with the school—what interventions, enrichment, or individualized supports are available for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks, and what the school’s trajectory looks like.
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