The reported proficiency rate for Math is 0%.
Original Research by School Decision on Belfonte Bell Es (adair Cnty)
Belfonte Bell ES (Adair Cnty) is a small public school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in rural Adair County, Oklahoma. It belongs to the Belfonte district, a small system based near the town of Stilwell. The school’s student body is small enough that state testing results for most grades cannot be reported publicly, a common situation for very small schools where a handful of students can reveal individual identities. The student composition is dominated by a single ethnic group: the overwhelming majority of students are American Indian or Alaska Native, with a smaller share identifying as two or more races and a handful of students who are Hispanic or white. Information on economic disadvantage, special education enrollment, and English learner status was not available in the data used here.
Academic performance data is sparse. For the one tested subject and grade where results were reportable (seventh-grade math), none of the roughly ten students who took the state assessment scored at the proficient level. All other grade-level results in math, English language arts, and science were suppressed because the number of test-takers was too small to report. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades placed it in the bottom quarter when compared with other districts in Adair County. Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to evaluate, and chronic absenteeism data was also not available. A parent seeking a clearer picture of academic outcomes may want to ask the school directly about classroom instruction and how the school supports students who are behind.
The setting is a small, rural town that serves as the county seat. Stilwell has a strong Cherokee identity and leaders sometimes refer to it as the Strawberry Capital of the World, though strawberry cultivation has declined. The cost of living is low and home values are modest, but the area also struggles with a high poverty rate. Major employers include Cherokee Nation Industries, a couple of manufacturing firms, and food processors. The town offers a historic downtown along Division Street, parks, and recreational amenities such as a new wellness center and a golf course under construction. The Belfonte district itself has no recent major changes reported in publicly available sources.
For a family considering this school, the most prominent characteristic is its size and rural location. The student body is small enough that children are likely to receive a lot of individual attention, but the academic record is hard to read from the state’s data alone. The one reported result suggests a challenge with middle-grade math proficiency, and the school’s overall standing within the county is low. A parent may want to visit, talk with teachers, and understand how the school identifies and addresses gaps before students move on to a high school in another district. The strong Native heritage of the community and the school’s role within it are a plain fact of the environment, not a measure of quality; for families who value that cultural context, it may be a meaningful fit.
See more original research from School Decision →