Beartooth Elementary School

We moved to Billings in 2016 when our daughter was in the middle of 2nd grade. After enrolling her at Independent, we went in to tour the school and meet her new teacher, Ms.V. The principal, Ms. Chouinard, was very personable and informative on what the school was about and what we, as parents, should expect from the teachers, staff and our kids. Our daughter was welcomed with open arms and smiles on her first day. She excelled at Independent because of the care and compassion or her teachers. Once she graduated, her teachers continue to ask about her and want me to pass on their best wishes and gratitude for her being such a great student. We currently have another daughter at Independent who has anxiety and sensory issues. Because of this, her learning is taking longer than anticipated for her age thus putting her in special education/resource room. She used to not want to go to school because of her anxiety and thinking kids would make fun of her. Her 1st grade teacher, Ms. Nussbaum, is the one that helped us recognize the signs and on the right path to better her education. She is now in 4th grade and the improvement is amazing! With the help of her resource room teachers and her homeroom teacher, she is thriving and loves going to school every day. The entire staff at Independent is phenomenal and such assets to the school. I highly recommend this school for those moving to Billings within SD52. Your kids will excel and be well loved/taken care of day after day.

My son has went here for 3 years and the kids are nice. It’s small and close knit school that is open to parental involvement. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a large school now that I have had my kid in Pioneer. They care about the kids at this school.

Wendy Tyree has been the hardest principal to work with. She does not care about the children’s education or emotional well being and always has time to talk at you but never has time to have a real conversation. I have had to pull my children from this school after they failed to seek medical help for my child with a head injury, even after he was falling asleep while in class. It was the final straw. I wasn’t even notified until hours after the injury. After taking my child to the doctor, I attempted to contact school district 2 but they don’t seem to have time to talk either. I highly recommend avoiding this school if you care about your children and their wellbeing.

My kids have attended Sandstone for 5 years now. I like their character development, their hard stance on bullying, and the teachers have all been great. My kids are Native American and one of them is special needs. Sandstone has been accommodating and sensitive to my kids' needs.

Feeling very frustrated with the lack of communication the school has. Why do they completely reply on phone apps?? What happened to sending out a monthly flyer to let you know there is a concert/activity/etc… I do like their math program and that I can “see” my child’s work via *one* of the apps used by the school to parents. I don’t want to be forced to rely on it for information provided last minute. Work/schedules need to be planned/altered in advance of activities so this information is nice to know ahead of time in a printed flyer. Secondly, my child had been “lost” by their teacher on more than one occasion (thankfully they don’t usually run off but scary nonetheless). There’s more but those are my biggest two. I can’t tell if this is a school issue or more likely a district one. Overall, disappointed and will be going elsewhere.

If you are looking for a public school this is the one. The teachers and staff are involved and learn parents first name and have great communication. A wonderful kindergarten teacher to ask for would be lindsay talkmark. Wonderful woman with great morals and the kids love her too!