NCES CCD 2024-25 22 schools MT

Best-Resourced Schools in Kalispell, MT

Compiled from official source data by .

22 public K-12 schools in Kalispell from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

PlainSchools home → About this data
22
Schools
8,524
Students
30.6/100
Avg Resource Index
14.9:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Lean reported-resource profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Kalispell has more public-school enrollment than 76% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Kalispell's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

13 of Kalispell's 22 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.

The composite and staffing measures point in different directions

Kalispell's average Resource Investment Index sits at the 13th percentile, while its teacher-staffing measure sits at the 55th percentile. The 42-point percentile gap is a reminder that the index is not a class-size score: counselors, gifted-program reporting, and attendance also affect it. Compare those components directly when two schools have similar index totals; the same headline score can arise from a different mix of reported resources.

City enrollment
Top 24%
School count
Top 13%
Resource Index average
13th percentile
Teacher staffing
55th percentile

Flathead High School accounts for 18.1% of all Kalispell public-school enrollment

That concentration means Kalispell-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: High. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Kalispell school enrollment varies 39× across entities

Kalispell school enrollment ranges from 40 students (lowest) to 1,541 students (highest), a spread of 1,501 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme heterogeneity inside a single city, with small specialty programs listed alongside large comprehensive campuses. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Kalispell operates 9 school districts — among the most fragmented governance structures in the country

Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Kalispell student-teacher ratio is 14.9:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Kalispell is typically wider than the Kalispell-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Cayuse Prairie 7-8 48
2. Evergreen Junior High 41
3. Helena Flats 7-8 40
4. Cayuse Prairie School 38
5. East Evergreen School 37
6. Fair-Mont-Egan School 34
7. West Valley School 33
8. West Valley Middle School 32
9. Lillian Peterson School 32
10. Smith Valley Primary Schl 32
11. Creston School 32
12. Fair-Mont-Egan Middle School 32
13. Elrod School 31
14. Russell School 31
15. Smith Valley 7-8 29
16. Cornelius Hedges School 26
17. Flathead High School 25
18. Kalispell Middle School 25
19. Glacier High School 23
20. Jeannette Rankin Elementary Sc 21
21. Helena Flats School 17
22. Edgerton School 14

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Kalispell

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Smith Valley 7-8 36.2/100
  2. 2 Creston School 34.5/100
  3. 3 Elrod School 32.4/100
  4. 4 East Evergreen School 31.9/100
  5. 5 Helena Flats 7-8 30.8/100

What do families ask about schools in Kalispell?

Which Kalispell school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Cayuse Prairie 7-8 has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Kalispell schools in this federal-data comparison at 48/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Kalispell, MT? ▼

Kalispell has 22 public schools with a total enrollment of 8,524 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 14.9:1.

Other Cities in Montana

Billings
43 schools
Missoula
23 schools
Bozeman
22 schools
Great Falls
22 schools
Helena
15 schools
Cut Bank
11 schools

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Montana →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.