POCATELLO — One of School District 25’s mottos is “you belong here,” and few places exemplify that philosophy more than Edahow Elementary School.

Edahow has earned the distinction of top-rated K-8 school in Idaho and second among all K-12 schools statewide — a milestone Principal Nick Muckerman credits to a staff and student culture built around excellence and individual growth.

Every three years, the federal government requires states to rank their schools. The primary indicators — accounting for 90 percent of the rankings — are English Language Arts proficiency, math proficiency and ISAT growth. The remaining portion measures student engagement. All data is composited to rank approximately 700 Idaho schools, including traditional public, charter and magnet schools that participate in ISAT.

Edahow’s trajectory has been consistently upward. In 2018, it ranked seventh among elementary schools. In 2023, it ranked first overall. In 2025, Edahow was recognized as a national ESEA Distinguished School. Now in 2026, it has claimed the top spot among K-8 schools and second among all K-12 schools statewide.

“We want to give kids the best opportunity at a high-quality education, to mold them into lifelong learners and lifelong leaders,” Muckerman said. “That’s our personal mission here. We see these rankings as a testament to how well we’re accomplishing that mission and vision. This is our trophy. This is our Stanley Cup. This is our Vince Lombardi Trophy — except there are a lot more teams and it’s not just a game, but the very future of the children we are entrusted with.”

Edahow’s success is even more notable given that 45 percent of its student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunches — nearly double the rate of other schools in the top 10. Rather than treating that statistic as a ceiling, Edahow views every student as a capable learner regardless of background.

“I think those are the success stories we see here at the individual level,” Muckerman said. “We get kids coming in from other states with very challenging behavioral backgrounds. They get here and the teachers hold them to the same expectations as everyone else. It’s kind of a shock at first to the student, because I think they’re used to being pushed aside in some instances. But then they rise to the expectation, and those success stories are what we live for.”

The only K-12 school that ranked ahead of Edahow requires students to maintain high ISAT averages to keep their enrollment — a bar Edahow clears without selective admissions.

Standardized testing remains important to educators at Edahow, but they supplement it by building individual relationships with each student.

“What we know from research is a teacher’s estimate of a student’s achievement — of what they can do — has one of the highest effect sizes on how well that kid does,” Muckerman said. “They work at the individual level with each kid. They’re reaching that kid on his or her level, and that includes all kids, whether they’re struggling, on target or highly advanced. They’re able to push all kids because we’re looking at them as individuals, rather than just teaching to the middle.”

Edahow prepares students not only with test-taking skills but also with the deeper competencies those tests are designed to measure — problem-solving, knowledge retention and general academic achievement.

That commitment extends across the district. School District 25 Director of Elementary Schools AJ Watson said schools actively share what is working.

“Our schools work really closely together,” Watson said. “We have monthly meetings where teachers from different schools get together and collaborate. So continuing to leverage that — knowing that Edahow has definitely found some success — and figuring out how we can coordinate to apply that across all schools and all grade levels.”

Muckerman said his team of “master teachers” holds itself accountable by constantly seeking to improve and never settling for the status quo.

“I feel very lucky and privileged to work alongside each and every staff member in our building,” Muckerman said. “Every single position plays a role in reaching this accomplishment. Every staff member plays a role, and so do our parents, because parents are the primary educators of children. We supplement that at the school, and we have very involved, committed parents who love being part of their kids’ education. They’re volunteering, they’re part of the PTO. We have a great parent base and we appreciate that.”

That level of support, combined with the tools Edahow provides, prepares students for middle school and beyond.

“We’ve seen kids learn and succeed,” Muckerman said. “When they really believe that, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I love that about what we’re doing here, because we want them to be the best version of themselves and to know their educational potential.”