Summary:
Dorena, Oregon is a small community served by two schools — Childs Way Charter School, an alternative K–12 school with 121 students, and Dorena School, an elementary K–8 school with 100 students — both part of South Lane School District 45J3, which ranks 88th of 141 Oregon districts (38th percentile, 2 stars). The area summary counts 2 total schools: 1 elementary and 1 alternative, with no separate middle or high school listed, since Dorena covers middle grades and Childs Way spans K–12.
Dorena School shows real strengths in English language arts and science, with standout results in 5th-grade ELA (53.3% proficient, above district at 45.0% and state at 47.1%) and 5th-grade science (33.3%, above district at 22.2% and state at 30.8%). All-grade ELA (39.4%) and science (26.3%) beat the district but trail the state. Math is the clear weak spot: all-grade math is 16.7%, below district (24.7%) and state (32.9%), with 4th and 6th grade both at 15.4% and 7th grade reported as under 5%. Chronic absenteeism is 38.4%, higher than both district (27.2%) and state (33.5%). Its rank history has swung sharply — 4 stars in 2023–24, 1 star in 2024–25, and 2 stars in 2025–26.
Childs Way Charter School posts the better reported absenteeism rate at 24.2%, below district and state, but its graduation rate is 57.1%, below district (76.2%) and state (83.0%); as an alternative school it may serve a different student population, so comparisons need caution. Its per-student spending is $11,008 versus Dorena's $16,972, while its reported student-teacher ratio is 57.8 — far above Dorena's 18.1. All of Childs Way's school-level test scores are suppressed, and its free/reduced lunch rate is not reported, so its academic performance cannot be assessed here. Dorena's 8th-grade ELA, math, and science scores are also suppressed. Suppressed values are unknown, not zero.
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