Glacier Gateway Elem

Glacier Gateway Elem operates as a substantial elementary campus in Columbia Falls, Montana, run under Columbia Falls Elem. Current enrollment sits at 471 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 182% larger than the state mean of about 167.

Columbia Falls Elem runs 3 schools in total, collectively educating 1,505 students. Glacier Gateway Elem is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Glacier Gateway Elem shows that nearly all students (86%) are White. The remainder breaks down as 7% multiracial, 5% Hispanic.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.5:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 11.9:1 average. About 99% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Flathead County (around 75%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Flathead County indicate median household earnings sit near $73,925, 37% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Glacier Gateway Elem is one of 48 public schools in Flathead County (combined enrollment of about 14,957 students).

Columbia Falls High Schl is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around Glacier Gateway Elem.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Glacier Gateway Elem has contracted 8%, going from 513 students in 2018 to 471 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 16.5:1 in 2018 to 14.5:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.