NCES CCD 2024-25 5 schools MT

Best-Resourced Schools in Polson, MT

Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools. · Updated August 2026

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

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Schools

1,627

Students

37.8/100

Avg Resource Index

13.3:1

Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Compact system with teacher-dense staffing

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Polson has more public-school enrollment than 7% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Polson is a comparatively small school market by total enrollment, yet its average student-teacher ratio is lower than most cities in the national comparison set. Small scale can make that staffing pattern easier to sustain, but it can also limit the breadth of specialized programs available at any one campus. The school list below shows whether students are concentrated in one combined-grade campus or distributed across separate elementary, middle, and high-school settings.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

2 of Polson's 5 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.

A small portfolio contains radically different campus scales

Polson lists only 5 schools, yet reported enrollment runs from 35 to 517 students, a 15-fold range. In a portfolio this compact, the smallest record may be a specialized or nonstandard setting rather than a miniature version of the largest campus. That distinction affects how ratios and program fields should be read. Compare similarly configured grade levels first; combining the extremes into one city average conceals more than it explains.

City enrollment: Top 93%
School count: Top 99%
Resource Index average: 36th percentile
Teacher staffing: 76th percentile

Polson High School accounts for 31.8% of all Polson public-school enrollment

That dominant concentration means Polson-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 Accessed 2026-08-26

Polson school enrollment varies 15× across entities

Polson school enrollment ranges from 35 students (lowest) to 517 students (highest), a spread of 482 students. That spread reflects typical urban portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. 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 Accessed 2026-08-26

Polson student-teacher ratio is 13.3:1 — low (typically associated with smaller schools or per-school staffing investment that often correlates with stronger per-student supports)

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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe Accessed 2026-08-26

#	School	Score	Enrollment	Level	District
1.	Cherry Valley School	44	243	Combined	Polson Elem
2.	Polson High School	41	517	high	Polson H S
3.	Polson Middle School	41	477	elementary	Polson Elem
4.	Linderman School	35	355	elementary	Polson Elem
5.	Valley View School	28	35	Combined	Valley View Elem

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Polson

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.

What do families ask about schools in Polson?

Which Polson school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Cherry Valley School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Polson schools in this federal-data comparison at 44/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Polson, MT? ▼

Polson has 5 public schools with a total enrollment of 1,627 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 13.3:1.

Other Cities in Montana

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.