Summary:
South Umpqua School District 19, located in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, is home to just one high school — South Umpqua High School — which serves grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 442 students, making it the only public high school option for families in the South Umpqua School District 19 area.
The most encouraging news is the school's rapid improvement in statewide standing. South Umpqua High School rose from 242nd of 270 schools (1 star, 10th percentile) in 2024–2025 to 129th of 271 schools (3 stars, 52nd percentile) in 2025–2026 — a jump from well below average to just above the median. For context, the district as a whole ranks 96th of 141 in Oregon, or the 32nd percentile, with 2 stars. Academically, the school's strengths are English Language Arts and Science. ELA proficiency is 48.8%, above the district's 34.4% and the state's 43.8%, while Science is 35.7%, above the district's 23.3% and the state's 30.6%. Eleventh-grade results show the same pattern, with ELA at 48.8% versus the state's 46.0% and Science at 35.7% versus 33.8%.
Mathematics is the clear weak spot: only 14.5% of students are proficient, compared with 22.3% in the district and 32.9% statewide — 18.4 percentage points below the state and less than half its rate. At 11th grade the gap narrows but remains, at 8.4 points below state. Attendance is another serious concern, with chronic absenteeism at 56.9% — more than half of students — which is 16.7 points above the district and 23.4 points above the state. Graduation, however, is a bright spot at 84.0%, slightly above both the district's 81.7% and the state's 83.0%. Most students here come from lower-income households, with 83.03% qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and the school spends $17,780 per student with a student-teacher ratio of 18.4. In short, this is a school on the rise, but math proficiency and attendance are the two areas families and staff should watch most closely.
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