Summary:
Siuslaw School District 97J serves roughly 1,207 students in Florence, Oregon, across three schools spanning grades K–12: Siuslaw Elementary School (K–5, 519 students), Siuslaw Middle School (6–8, 275 students), and Siuslaw High School (9–12, 413 students). The district ranks 47th of 141 Oregon districts, placing it in the 67th percentile with 3 stars — a standing higher than two of its three individual schools.
Siuslaw High School is the clear standout, climbing from 1 star and the 19th percentile in 2023–2024 to 4 stars and the 75th percentile in 2025–2026. Its 11th graders beat state averages in ELA (57.6% vs. 46.0%), math (25.8% vs. 22.9%), and science (47.8% vs. 33.8%). Yet its chronic absenteeism (43.8%) is the district's highest, 10.3 points above the state, and its 76.2% graduation rate trails the state's 83.0%. Siuslaw Elementary School has the best attendance, with 30.6% chronic absenteeism — below both district and state — but scores below state in every tested grade and subject shown. Siuslaw Middle School spends the most per student ($23,266) yet sits at the 43rd percentile, with 8th-grade science (30.3% vs. state 27.7%) its main bright spot.
Across the district, math is the weakest subject, science is a relative strength at the secondary level, and chronic absenteeism rises with grade level — from 30.6% in elementary to 39.2% in middle and 43.8% in high school. Roughly 82–84% of students at every school qualify for free or reduced lunch, so high poverty is universal even though outcomes differ sharply, and spending and staffing do not line up neatly with results.
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