Jim Darcy School

Among the schools in Helena, Montana, is Jim Darcy School, a large elementary school. Total enrollment is 473 students, and the grades served are pre-K through 5. Elementary schools in Montana have about 167 students on average; enrollment here is 183% higher.

The Helena Elem system has 15 schools and 5,100 students.

Jim Darcy School is 89% White by enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 7% Hispanic. That is in line with Lewis and Clark County, where about 91% of residents are White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 20%.

The school's 25.2 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.8:1. The average for elementary schools in Montana is 11.9:1, so this school has more students per teacher. At Jim Darcy School, 19% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Lewis and Clark County is 38%.

In Lewis and Clark County, home to about 73,464 people, median household income comes to about $78,237, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 43%, and about 3% of people live in poverty. Lewis and Clark County's 36 public schools enroll about 9,786 students and include Jim Darcy School.

Rossiter School is about 3.1 miles from Jim Darcy School, the shortest distance to any other public school. Other public schools within ten miles: at least 8.

NCES lists the school's locale as Suburb: Small. That means it sits in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population under 100,000.

Enrollment has been fairly stable: 482 in 2020-21 and 473 in 2024-25.

Anyone can start a thread about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Jim Darcy School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.