West Yellowstone School

West Yellowstone School is a tight-knit elementary campus in West Yellowstone, Montana, part of West Yellowstone K-12. The school instructs 127 students in grades K through 5. That puts it 24% below the typical public school in Montana, which averages around 167 students.

Across the 3 schools in West Yellowstone K-12 (252 students total), West Yellowstone School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, West Yellowstone School lists that 50% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest consists of 49% Hispanic. By comparison, Gallatin County as a whole is about 89% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, The school reports having 10 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.3:1. The state averages about 11.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 45% of students at West Yellowstone School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Gallatin County (around 25%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Gallatin County shows median household income runs about $93,528, roughly 54% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Gallatin County runs 48 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,170 students), of which West Yellowstone School is one.

West Yellowstone HS is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. 2 of the 6 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The school occupies an outlying site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 22%: 163 students in 2018 compared to 127 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share grew from 34% to 49%. Class-load math has fell: from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 12.3:1 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.