Ponderosa School

Ponderosa School is a roomy primary school in Billings, Montana, overseen by Billings Elem. The school serves 277 students in grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, Montana's public schools average about 167 students each, so Ponderosa School sits 66% bigger than that benchmark.

Billings Elem comprises 29 schools with combined enrollment of 11,377 students; Ponderosa School is among them.

On demographics, Ponderosa School logs that the most-represented group is White (52%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 19% Hispanic, 19% Native American, 7% multiracial, 3% Black. The wider county runs roughly 86% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 11.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 74% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is above Yellowstone County's rate of about 48%.

In the surrounding community, Yellowstone County reports that median household earnings sit near $76,570, about 34% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Yellowstone County runs 68 public schools (combined enrollment of about 23,853 students), of which Ponderosa School is one.

The closest other public school is Newman School, roughly 0.8 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Geographically, the school is in a high-density area.

Over the past 7-year window. Ponderosa School's enrollment has grew 3% since 2018, when it stood at 269 (now 277). Over the same period, the Hispanic share fell from 23% to 19%. Class-load math has fell: from 15.4:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Ponderosa School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.