The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is December 2024)
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Do you research school records? I’m not talking about yearbooks. Those can be found on the Yearbooks Page. I’m talking about actual school records, such as enrollment, attendance, and grade reports for example. These are interesting source documents because they might record the student’s age, birth date and location, and possibly their parents’ names. All great ways to find this information if you haven’t found them in other documents about your target ancestor. Besides, finding out your grandmother’s grades would be interesting!
The record collection links, listed below, feature school records from the state, and list collections of records that are available for free online.
If you wish to get educated with some basic information regarding what is available and how to navigate your research for school records, you can read these summaries:
- 5 Quick Tips to Get the Most Out of Education Records
- Top 10 Strategies for Finding School Records for Genealogy
- Getting Started With School Records for Genealogy Research
So, what types of records related to schools are maintained and often available?
- School Census
- School Catalogs
- Teacher’s Registers
- Attendance Records
- Report Cards
- Class Logs
- Teacher Rosters
- School Board Meetings/Reports
- Academic Team and Class Photos
- Local Newspaper Articles:
- Graduation Lists
- School Activities
- School Sports
- Student Newspapers
- Alumni Directories and Publications
- Yearbooks
- Yearbook Indexes
And, what types of information can you derive from these school records?
- Name (often includes a middle name which is useful).
- Age
- Physical Characteristics – color/race, disability.
- Birth Date
- Current Residence Address
- Name of Father
- Name of Mother
- Occupations of parents
- Grades
- Classes Taken
- Activities (from Photos)
- Date left school (can help with family residence relocation)
Below is a list of links to free online school record collections for the state;
Note: Some of the links go to sites with not much information and some go to sites with an extensive set of records.
Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
Idaho School Records
- Adams County, School Census, Marshal’s Report, 1913-1926
- Bancroft, North Gem High School, North Gem Cowboys Class of 1940: 50th Graduation Anniversary
- Bancroft, North Gem High School, North Gem Cowboys Class of 1942: 50th Graduation Anniversary
- Bingham County, School Census, 1887-1922
- Bingham County, School Records, 1885-1923
- Bonner County, School Census 1899-1903
- Boundary County, Miscellaneous School Newspaper Articles
- Cassia County Records, 1879-1989
- Cedar Creek School Census, 1900-1947
- Census for Shoshoni, Sheepeater, Bannock in the Lemhi Agency, 1885-1906
- Coeur d’Alene High School, Classmates of the 1920s
- Colville, Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1939
- Fort Hall Agency, Student Records, 1946-1952
- Fremont County Schools from Eighteen Eighty to Nineteen Ninety
- Fremont County, School Census Records, 1904-1942
- Gooding County Records, 1879-1962
- Gooding County, School Census, 1921-1946
- Idaho County, Miscellaneous School Records
- Jerome Public School Records
- Jerome Public School Records 1920-1950
- Kootenai County, School Census, 1898-1910
- Lemhi County Records, 1868-1964
- Lemhi County, School Records, 1888-1946
- Lewis County, Marshals School Census Report Packets, 1913-1920
- Madison High School: Class of 1953. 50th Reunion
- Minidoka and Lincoln Counties, School Census Records, 1912-1918
- Minidoka County Records, 1913-1961
- Minidoka County, School Census Records, 1909-1955
- North Gem High School Cowboys Class of 1941: 50th Graduation Anniversary
- North Gem High School, Gem hi-lites
- Northern Idaho Agency, School Records, 1925-1952
- Power County, School Records, 1913-1937
- Shelley Schools, History
- Shelley, Dean Goodsell School
- The Harrow School Register, 1800-1911
- Weiser School Records, Independent District No. 1
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!