St Helens School District 502

Summary:

The St Helens School District 502 in Oregon consists of 8 schools, including 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school. The district as a whole is underperforming compared to the state, ranking 104 out of 140 districts in Oregon and receiving a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Within the district, a few schools stand out in their performance. St Helens Arthur Academy, a public charter elementary school, consistently outperforms the district and state averages on standardized test scores in English Language Arts, Math, and Science. In contrast, Lewis & Clark Elementary School has shown strong performance, especially in 4th and 5th grade ELA and Math. However, the district and its schools generally underperform the state averages on standardized tests, with only 36% of 11th graders at St Helens High School being proficient in ELA, compared to the state average of 44.4%.

The data also reveals significant challenges facing the district, such as high chronic absenteeism rates across all schools and wide disparities in per-student spending, ranging from $5,028 at Columbia City School and St Helens Arthur Academy to $20,303 at Lewis & Clark Elementary. These factors likely contribute to the overall underperformance of the district and highlight the need for targeted interventions and resource allocation to improve student outcomes across all schools.

District Detail

474 N 16th St
Saint Helens, OR 97051-1340

(503) 397-3085

SchoolDigger Rank:
104^th of 140 Oregon districts

See the 2025 Oregon District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 2,856

Primary Schools: 4
Middle Schools: 1
High Schools: 2
Alternative Schools: 1

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				OSAS English Language Arts (2025)							OSAS Mathematics (2025)							OSAS Science (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2023)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	OSAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 11th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 3rd Grade	OSAS Mathematics 4th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 5th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 6th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 7th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 8th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 11th Grade	OSAS Science 5th Grade	OSAS Science 8th Grade	OSAS Science 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Columbia City School	Public	K-5	2000 Second St	Columbia City	97018	Columbia County	St Helens School District 502	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(503) 366-7550	214	12	17.7	72.9%	168 (78.5%)	2 (0.9%)	28 (13.1%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (6.5%)	31.4	483^rd of 706 public elementary schools	31.6%		20.2	597^th of 710 public elementary schools	15.9%	114	28.6	22.6	50.0					19.0	20.0	34.4					31.3			$5,028	$306	$4,721
McBride Elementary School	Public	K-5	2774 Columbia Blvd	Saint Helens	97051	Columbia County	St Helens School District 502	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(503) 366-7700	452	25	17.9	73.9%	353 (78.1%)	9 (2.0%)	55 (12.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.5%)	3 (0.7%)	25 (5.5%)	23.9	555^th of 706 public elementary schools	21.4%		24.9	541^st of 710 public elementary schools	23.8%	14	37.2	30.6	34.8					33.3	21.3	5.8					10.1			$19,381	$1,940	$17,442
St Helens Middle School	Public	6-8	354 N 15th St	Saint Helens	97051	Columbia County	St Helens School District 502	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 366-7300	563	31	18.3	73.0%	422 (75.0%)	8 (1.4%)	74 (13.1%)	5 (0.9%)	11 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (7.5%)	19.3	310^th of 368 public middle schools	15.8%		16.6	327^th of 371 public middle schools	11.9%	17				23.1	26.9	22.6					11.2	17.1	19.5			20.3		$15,808	$1,177	$14,630
St Helens High School	Public	9-12	2375 Gable Rd	Saint Helens	97051	Columbia County	St Helens School District 502	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 397-1900	823	38	21.3	72.7%	633 (76.9%)	7 (0.9%)	93 (11.3%)	6 (0.7%)	12 (1.5%)	6 (0.7%)	56 (6.8%)	39.7	154^th of 270 public high schools	43.0%		33.2	179^th of 268 public high schools	33.2%	25							36.0							14.1			34.6	$19,787	$1,145	$18,642
Plymouth High School	Public	9-12	470 N 16th St	Saint Helens	97051	Columbia County	St Helens School District 502	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 366-7200	65	3	19.6	73.8%	43 (66.2%)	2 (3.1%)	11 (16.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.1%)	1 (1.5%)	5 (7.7%)								(n/a)																		$18,680	$442	$18,239
St Helens Arthur Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	33035 Pittsburg Rd	Saint Helens	97051	Columbia County	St Helens School District 502	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 366-7030	160	15	11.0	38.1%	128 (80.0%)	2 (1.3%)	18 (11.3%)	3 (1.9%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (5.0%)	65.3	205^th of 706 public elementary schools	71.0%		52.1	294^th of 710 public elementary schools	58.6%	89	39.1	54.2	61.9					43.5	37.5	42.9					47.6			$5,028	$306	$4,721
St. Helens Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	470 N 16th St	Saint Helens	97051	Columbia County	St Helens School District 502	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(503) 366-7200	153	5	30.6		121 (79.1%)	1 (0.7%)	17 (11.1%)	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (7.2%)								(n/a)																		$12,887	$318	$12,569
Lewis & Clark Elementary School	Public	K-5	111 S 9th St	Saint Helens	97051	Columbia County	St Helens School District 502	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(503) 366-7603	426	25	16.8	72.3%	309 (72.5%)	2 (0.5%)	62 (14.6%)	2 (0.5%)	11 (2.6%)	2 (0.5%)	37 (8.7%)	25.6	540^th of 706 public elementary schools	23.5%		29.7	495^th of 710 public elementary schools	30.3%	45	22.7	25.0	41.8					21.6	32.8	21.7					22.1			$20,303	$1,697	$18,606

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Scappoose School District 1J	5.88 mi	8
Rainier School District 13	16.32 mi	2	96^th
Vernonia School District 47J	17.93 mi	4	121^st
Portland School District 1J	19.75 mi	87	13^th
Beaverton School District 48J	21.89 mi	57	17^th

See the top OR Oregon districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Oregon Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.