Best Public Schools in Garibaldi, OR

Garibaldi, Oregon has exactly one public school — Garibaldi Elementary School — serving students in grades PK through 5 with 115 students, located at 604 Cypress St in this small coastal Tillamook County community and part of Neah-Kah-Nie School District 56. Because it is the only school in the city, there are no local middle, high, or alternative schools to compare it with; families here move on to other district schools after 5th grade.

The district is a standout: Neah-Kah-Nie School District 56 ranks 10th of 141 Oregon districts (93rd percentile, 5 stars). The school itself sits near the state middle, ranking 355 of 709 (50th percentile, 3 stars) in 2025–26. Its academic picture is mixed. All-grade English language arts proficiency is 44.6%, just above the state's 43.8% but well below the district's 56.3%, while all-grade math is 35.4% versus the state's 32.9% and the district's 38.5%. Fifth grade ELA is the clear bright spot at 57.9%, higher than both the district (53.1%) and the state (47.1%). Science is the biggest concern at 26.3%, below the state's 30.6% and far below the district's 47.8%; 5th grade math is also low at 26.3% against the state's 32.4%.

Other context matters too: chronic absenteeism is 34.8%, above the state's 33.5% but below the district's 37.7%, meaning more than a third of students miss substantial school time. Free/reduced lunch participation is 85.22%, per-student spending is $33,325, and the student-teacher ratio is 12:1. Over three years the school's rank moved from the 63rd percentile (3 stars) to the 43rd (2 stars) to the 50th (3 stars), so it has improved but not fully recovered. With only 115 students, grade-level percentages can swing from just one or two students, so results are best watched over multiple years.