Summary:
La Grande School District 1 serves roughly 2,014 students across five schools — three elementary schools (Central, Island City, and Greenwood), one middle school, and one high school — and there are no alternative schools in the district. La Grande School District 1 is ranked 70th of 141 districts in Oregon, placing it at the 50th percentile with a 3-star rating. Enrollment varies widely: La Grande High School has 604 students, La Grande Middle School 480, Central Elementary School 403, Island City Elementary School 293, and Greenwood Elementary School 234.
The district average masks big differences between schools. Central Elementary is the strongest overall performer, beating state averages in ELA (45.9% vs. 43.8%), math (39.5% vs. 32.9%), and science (37.3% vs. 30.6%), with chronic absenteeism of 20.1%. Island City also tops the state in all three subjects and has the district's lowest absenteeism at 16.7%, though its rank slipped from 82nd percentile (4 stars) to 53rd percentile (3 stars). Greenwood is the lowest performer, at 17th percentile with 1 star, below the state in every subject. La Grande High School has strong graduation (93.8% vs. 83.0%) and science (44.4% vs. 33.8%) results, but low ELA (28.6%) and math (15.0%), plus the district's highest absenteeism at 42.9%. The middle school is stable at 2 stars, near the state in ELA but below in math and science.
Attendance closely tracks achievement: the two elementary schools with the lowest chronic absenteeism have the strongest test scores, while the two with the highest have the weakest ELA and math outcomes. Resources alone do not explain results — Greenwood has the highest elementary per-student spending ($18,077) and smallest classes, yet the lowest achievement. Free/reduced lunch is similar across all schools (about 63–66%), so poverty levels do not account for the wide gaps.
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