Summary:
Welches, Oregon is a small community in Oregon Trail School District 46 served by just two public schools — Welches Elementary School (grades K–5, 172 students) and Welches Middle School (grades 6–8, 67 students) — with no high school or alternative school in the data set. Together they enroll 239 students, and both belong to a district ranked 15th of 141 in the state, at the 89th percentile with 5 stars.
Academically, Welches Elementary School is the stronger of the two. Its all-grade proficiency beats both the district and the state in ELA (55.6%), math (45.6%), and science (35.3%). Fourth grade is a bright spot, with 65.6% proficient in ELA and 59.4% in math, while third-grade math is a clear weak spot at 33.3%, below the district's 56.0% and the state's 41.3%. Welches Middle School has the better attendance — 23.4% chronic absenteeism versus 27.2% at the elementary, and both are below the district's 32.3% and the state's 33.5% — but its academics trail the district in every all-grade subject. Seventh-grade ELA stands out at 60.0%, while sixth- and eighth-grade ELA are weak, and eighth-grade science is 25.9%.
Two trends are worth watching. Both schools have slipped in state rank over two years: the elementary went from 90th percentile and 5 stars to 72nd percentile and 4 stars, and the middle school from 79th percentile and 4 stars to 62nd percentile and 3 stars. The middle school also spends far more per student — $24,140 versus $19,610 — likely reflecting fixed costs at a small school. Poverty data is unusable here: the elementary's free/reduced-lunch figure is blank and the middle school's value of 214.93 is not a valid percentage, so economic comparisons between the schools are not possible.
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