Bitterroot 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.

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.

If you are looking for a school where the staff is friendly, the secretary smiles and is helpful, and the principal knows you or your kid's name, this is NOT the school for you. This school is lucky to have a couple of really excellent, caring teachers, because most of the staff is very rude and do not really care about the children. They are simply there for the paycheck. The pick-up and drop-off is an absolute joke, with most parents blatantly disregarding simple rules (and being rude about it, like the people actually following the rules are at fault).

This school offers absolutely no adult supervision prior to school beginning in the morning! Ridiculous! I have lived in two other states and have never seen such a lack of concern for children and their parents. The principal Julie Hornby was not at all helpful.

I love Beartooth Elementary!!! Striving forward under new administration, Beartooth is making big strides and is becoming a community centered school with student led projects and activities. A strong character education strategy has been implemented over the past two school years with the results of higher attendance rates, rising proficiency scores, and lots of smiles and laughing. We work hard, we play hard, we learn more every day.