Trout Creek School

Trout Creek School is an elementary campus of one-room-style scale in Trout Creek, Montana, operated by Trout Creek Elem, serveing 32 students in grades pre-K through 6. That puts it 81% leaner than the typical public school in Montana, which averages around 167 students.

Trout Creek Elem runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 36 students. Trout Creek School is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Trout Creek School records that the student body is overwhelmingly White (88%). Other groups include 6% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. Compared to Sanders County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school employs 4 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 7.2:1. 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, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Sanders County runs at roughly 91%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Sanders County indicate median household income runs about $57,476, 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Trout Creek School is one of 16 public schools in Sanders County (combined enrollment of about 1,321 students).

Nearest neighbor: Trout Creek 7-8, around 0.0 miles off.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Trout Creek School has contracted 30%, going from 46 students in 2018 to 32 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share expanded from 80% to 88%. Class-load math has fell: from 8.3:1 in 2018 to 7.2:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the feed for Trout Creek School typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.