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Schools›Montana›Billings
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BILLINGS ELEM·NCES 300387000061

Bench School

505 Milton Road, Billings, MT 59105 · (406) 281-6203 · Yellowstone County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL332 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded

This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work

Enrollment
332
Elementary
DISTRICT 345 · STATE 167
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.6:1 · STATE 11.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
70%
234 students
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 58%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K309%
Kindergarten5216%
Grade 14714%
Grade 25918%
Grade 35717%
Grade 44213%
Grade 54514%

This year's kindergarten class (52) is 16% larger than its 5th grade class (45).

Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 40% · US 70%
White
18857%
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 76% · US 43%
Hispanic
3711%
DISTRICT 11% · STATE 7% · US 30%
Black
31%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 1% · US 15%
Asian
10%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 1% · US 6%
Two+
3611%
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Native American
6620%
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 10% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
16449%
Female
16851%

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Test scores

EDFacts (federal) 2020-21 . % Proficient (SY 20-21)
English Language Arts
32.0%
MT avg 47.2%
Math
37.0%
MT avg 36.0%

What this means: On the EDFacts (federal), Montana's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Montana schools, those numbers are about 47 and 36.

Source: EDFacts (federal). All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

Schools most like Bench School

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Bench School this school33270.5%N/A
Beartooth School
Billings
37359.2%N/A
Lewis & Clark School
Great Falls
33859.8%N/A
Mountain View School
Great Falls
31580.6%N/A
CORE School at Morningside El
Great Falls
29757.6%N/A
McKinley School
Billings
33964.0%N/A
Matched among Montana elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.

Where Bench School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn MontanaIn Yellowstone County
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
37.0%#100 of 199#19 of 32
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
32.0%#168 of 201#24 of 32
Enrollment
ranked largest first
332#74 of 421#15 of 39
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
15.0:1#87 of 160#11 of 31
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
61.5%#13 of 160#6 of 31
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
70.5%#75 of 226#11 of 35
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-13.8%#46 of 107#5 of 13
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
332
+32 (+11%) vs 2020
-25% since 1990-91, when it was 440
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 15.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2533222.115.0:170% (234)
2023-2431422.513.9:168% (214)
2022-233392314.8:1N/A
2020-213002015.0:1N/A
2017-1838525.515.1:152% (200)
2015-164082317.7:171% (288)
2010-113572216.2:158% (207)
2000-014252517.0:146% (194)
1990-914402022.0:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bench School.

Since 2017-18: students down 14% (385 to 332); teachers down 13% (25.5 to 22.1).

About Bench School

Families in Billings, Montana, are served by Bench School, a large elementary school. Federal data show 332 students enrolled in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25. Elementary schools in Montana average about 167 students, which makes this school 99% bigger than average.

Billings Elem is made up of 29 schools with 11,377 students in all.

The student body at Bench School is 57% White. The school is also 20% Native American, 11% Hispanic, and 11% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 86%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 62, compared with 70 nationally.

The student-to-teacher ratio is 15.0:1. The school has 22.1 full-time-equivalent teachers. Across elementary schools in Montana, the average ratio is 11.9:1. Federal data show 70% of students (234) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Yellowstone County is 48%.

For the population of Yellowstone County, median household income comes to about $76,570, about 34% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Across Yellowstone County, 68 public schools serve about 23,853 students.

Bench School is about 1.2 miles from Bitterroot School, its nearest public school. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles.

Under the NCES locale system, Bench School is City: Mid-size.

Over 4 years, enrollment rose by 32 students, from 300 to 332.

On allk12, people connected to Bench School can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

Yellowstone County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
168,957
Census ACS
Median income
$76,570
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
68
23,853 students

Quick facts

School name
Bench School
District
Billings Elem
Address
505 Milton Road, Billings, MT 59105
Phone
(406) 281-6203
County
Yellowstone County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
332
Teachers (FTE)
22
Student–teacher ratio
15.0:1
Free and reduced lunch
234 (70%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
300387000061
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Billings Elem
Other schools in Billings
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Bench School
How large is Bench School?
Bench School enrolls approximately 332 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Bench School serve?
Bench School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Bench School have?
Bench School employs 22 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Bench School?
At Bench School, the student body is approximately 57% White, 11% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is Bench School public or private?
Bench School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Billings Elem.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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