Charlo Elementary

Charlo Elementary operates as a low-enrollment elementary school in Charlo, Montana, overseen by Charlo Elem. Current enrollment sits at 89 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 47% smaller than the state mean of about 167.

Charlo Elementary is one of 2 schools operated by Charlo Elem, a district that hosts 137 students overall.

On demographics, Charlo Elementary logs that 82% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. The remainder is composed of 8% multiracial, 7% Native American, 3% Hispanic. That is considerably more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 66%.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 9 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 9.9:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 11.9:1 average. An estimated 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Lake County (around 83%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Across the wider county, census data for Lake County shows median household earnings sit near $63,360, about 32% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. In all, Lake County runs 21 public schools (combined enrollment of about 4,302 students), of which Charlo Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Charlo 6-8, around 0.0 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Charlo Elementary.

Geographically, the school is in a rural area.

Looking at the recent track record. Charlo Elementary's enrollment has ticked down 35% since 2018, when it stood at 137 (now 89). Over the same period, the White share rose from 66% to 82%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 13.5:1 in 2018 to 9.9:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.