Original Research by School Decision on Will-moore Elementary School
Will-Moore Elementary School sits on Avenue E in Bismarck, a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Bismarck Public School District 1. Its location near the downtown core places it in a part of the city where government, healthcare, and retail converge. The state capitol complex sits just north of downtown, both major hospital systems are nearby, and Kirkwood Mall anchors commercial activity in the city center rather than out in the suburbs. For a family considering this school, the setting is urban-adjacent, with a compact historic core around it but a broader built environment that leans auto-oriented.
The student body at Will-Moore is one of the more diverse elementary populations in Bismarck. White students make up just under half the enrollment, with the rest spread across Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiracial students, along with smaller Black, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander groups. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals that the school serves a community where economic need is concentrated compared with many of its peers in the district. Data on English learners and special education enrollment was not available, so families whose children receive those services may want to ask the school directly about what is in place.
On state testing, Will-Moore's results for the current year sit in the lower to moderate range across subjects. Math proficiency falls in the lower band, English language arts is somewhat higher but still below the midpoint, and science trails both. These results come from the ND A-PLUS assessment, which is newly adopted and involved changes to cut scores, so the state has flagged that comparisons to prior years are not reliable. This is the first year under the new assessment, and there is no trend line yet to show whether these results represent a shift or a steady-state picture. Participation was solid across all tested grades. A parent looking at these numbers should understand them as a baseline under a new testing system rather than a downward or upward signal, and asking the school how it is responding to the results would be a reasonable next step.
The housing market around Will-Moore reflects Bismarck's broader growth trajectory. Typical home values in this zip code run above the North Dakota state benchmark but remain below the national median, and rents are modest relative to ownership costs, with renting coming in considerably cheaper per month than carrying a mortgage at current rates. Bismarck has been growing steadily, with publicly reported recognition as one of the faster-growing small cities in the country. The school district, the largest in North Dakota, has been investing in facilities to keep up. A bond referendum passed earlier in the decade funded new construction and building improvements, and the district opened a rebuilt Roosevelt Elementary in fall 2024. Those investments affect class sizes and capacity across the system, though Will-Moore itself did not appear in the district brief as a specific target of recent construction.
Bismarck as a community offers the civic and cultural infrastructure of a state capital. The North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum sit on the capitol grounds, the Missouri River forms the western edge of the city with boating and fishing access, and the Dakota Zoo is a known local attraction. Trails for hiking and biking run through the city, and Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park and the On-a-Slant Indian Village lie just southwest. The broader regional economy leans on state government, healthcare, energy production, and agriculture-related manufacturing, with a refinery across the river in Mandan. For a family tied to government work, healthcare, or the service sectors that orbit them, this is a practical place to land.
Will-Moore fits a family looking for a small, centrally located elementary school with a diverse peer group and a community where housing remains relatively attainable by national standards. The academic results under the new state assessment are a soft spot, and with no prior comparable data, a parent would be right to ask how the school plans to build from this baseline. What the data does show clearly is a school reflecting the economic and demographic texture of downtown Bismarck, operating in a district that is actively expanding its physical plant to manage growth.
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