Enrollment
260
Elementary
DISTRICT 348 · STATE 167
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GREAT FALLS ELEM·NCES 301304000357
Chief Joseph School
5305 3rd Avenue South, Great Falls, MT 59405 · (406) 268-6675 · Cascade County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL260 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
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 11.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
56%
145 students
DISTRICT 61% · 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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 16 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 37 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 36 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 39 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 28 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 36 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 33 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 35 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (37) is 6% larger than its 6th grade class (35).
Student demographics
44%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 40% · US 70%
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
Test scores
EDFacts (federal) 2020-21 . % Proficient (SY 20-21)English Language Arts
47.0%
MT avg 47.2%
Math
57.0%
MT avg 36.0%
What this means: On the EDFacts (federal), Montana's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 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 Chief Joseph School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Joseph School this school | 260 | 55.8% | N/A |
| Beartooth School Billings | 373 | 59.2% | N/A |
| Warren School Helena | 276 | 58.3% | N/A |
| Sandstone School Billings | 393 | 55.0% | N/A |
| Valley View School Great Falls | 312 | 57.7% | N/A |
| CORE School at Morningside El Great Falls | 297 | 57.6% | 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 Chief Joseph School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Montana | In Cascade County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.0% | #29 of 199 | #4 of 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #93 of 201 | #8 of 18 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 260 | #121 of 421 | #14 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.2:1 | #17 of 160 | #2 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.2% | #46 of 160 | #10 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 55.8% | #101 of 226 | #11 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.9% | #45 of 107 | #5 of 11 |
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 2024-25Enrollment
260
-13 (-5%) vs 2020
-24% since 1990-91, when it was 342
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
was 12.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 260 | 21.4 | 12.2:1 | 56% (145) |
| 2023-24 | 262 | 20.1 | 13.0:1 | 59% (155) |
| 2022-23 | 268 | 22.5 | 11.9:1 | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 273 | 22 | 12.4:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 302 | 25.4 | 11.9:1 | 62% (186) |
| 2015-16 | 320 | 22 | 14.6:1 | 55% (175) |
| 2010-11 | 293 | 22 | 13.3:1 | 45% (133) |
| 2000-01 | 273 | 20 | 13.7:1 | 41% (112) |
| 1990-91 | 342 | 15 | 22.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Chief Joseph School.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (302 to 260); teachers down 16% (25.4 to 21.4).
About Chief Joseph School
Chief Joseph School, located in Great Falls, Montana, is a high-enrollment elementary school. The school enrolls 260 students, from pre-K through 6. An average school in this group (elementary schools in Montana) has about 167 students.
Great Falls Elem enrolls 7,094 students in 18 schools, including Chief Joseph School.
At 73%, White students outnumber all other groups at Chief Joseph School combined. Other students are 12% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, and 5% Native American. By comparison, Cascade County residents are about 84% White. The chance that two students picked at random at Chief Joseph School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 44%.
The count of teachers at Chief Joseph School is 21.4 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 12.2:1. Elementary schools in Montana average about 11.9:1, a similar figure. Around 56% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. That is close to the 54% average for public schools in Cascade County.
Cascade County has these Census figures: median household income is about $67,690, about 28% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 8%. Chief Joseph School is among the 45 public schools in Cascade County.
The closest public school, Loy School, is about 0.6 miles from Chief Joseph School. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools.
Locale: City: Small. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The student count in 2024-25 was 260, 5% below the 273 of 2020-21.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Cascade County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
84,606
Census ACS
Median income
$67,690
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
45
11,577 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Great Falls Elem
- East Middle SchoolMiddle · 764 students
- North Middle SchoolMiddle · 764 students
- Meadow Lark SchoolElementary · 527 students
- Riverview SchoolElementary · 445 students
- Giant Springs ElementaryElementary · 431 students
- West ElementaryElementary · 421 students
Other schools in Great Falls
- Great Falls High SchoolHigh · 1,548 students
- C M Russell High SchoolHigh · 1,412 students
- East Middle SchoolMiddle · 764 students
- North Middle SchoolMiddle · 764 students
- Meadow Lark SchoolElementary · 527 students
- Riverview SchoolElementary · 445 students
Nearby schools
- Loy School0.6 mi · 392
- East Middle School0.8 mi · 764
- MT Sch For Deaf & Blnd HS1.0 mi · 15
- MT Sch For Deaf & Blnd El1.0 mi · 20
- Lewis & Clark School1.0 mi · 338
- CORE School at Morningside El1.0 mi · 297
Frequently asked questions
About Chief Joseph SchoolHow large is Chief Joseph School?
Chief Joseph School enrolls approximately 260 students in grades PK-06.
Is Chief Joseph School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Chief Joseph School is an elementary school covering grades PK-06.
How many teachers does Chief Joseph School have?
Chief Joseph School employs 21 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Chief Joseph School?
Student demographics at Chief Joseph School are roughly 73% White, 9% Hispanic, 1% Black, 12% Two or more.
Is Chief Joseph School public or private?
Chief Joseph School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Great Falls Elem.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.