Summary
Peninsula Elementary School is a K–5 school at 8125 N Emerald Ave in North Portland serving 235 students in Portland School District 1J (Portland Public Schools), a district ranked 12th of 141 statewide. In 2025-26 the school ranked 294th of 709 Oregon elementary schools (59th percentile, 3 stars). The decade-long history is the headline: Peninsula was a bottom-decile, 1-star school as recently as 2016–2019 (as low as the 10th percentile), then gained roughly 50 percentile points within a few years. The last three years, however, have been flat with a slight drift down from its 2023-24 peak of the 67th percentile to 60th and now 59th.
Academically, Peninsula sits between the state and its own district. In 2025-26, ELA was 43.8% — exactly the state average but about 14 points behind the district — while math (40.5%) beat the state by 7.6 points but trailed the district by 10. Science is the standout at 50.0%, above both the district and the state. Results vary sharply by grade: 5th grade ELA (69.2%) is the highest of any nearby school, including the four that outrank Peninsula overall, and 5th grade science and math rank 2nd and 3rd of 11 nearby schools. Third grade is the weak spot, with ELA at 28.9% — 9th of 11 locally, ahead of only Boise-Eliot Elementary School, Cesar Chavez K-8 School and Rosa Parks Elementary School. Nearby schools split into two clusters: those reporting roughly 40–43% free/reduced lunch sit near the top locally — Chief Joseph Elementary School (82nd percentile), Astor Elementary School (84th), Beach Elementary School (80th) and Woodlawn Elementary School (77th) — while schools at or near universal economic need sit at the bottom. Peninsula ranks 7th of 11 nearby schools, matching The Ivy School less closely than the four above it.
Chronic absenteeism has improved to 34.2%, essentially at state (33.5%) and district (32.5%) norms — better than James John Elementary School (38.1%), Rosa Parks (50.0%) and Boise-Eliot (56.9%), though behind Chief Joseph (17.3%) and Beach (23.6%). Resources are not the constraint: at $26,581 per student and a 13.2 student-teacher ratio, Peninsula spends more and has smaller classes than Chief Joseph, Astor, Beach and Woodlawn — while Rosa Parks spends the most locally and still ranks in the 2nd percentile. The clearest concern is the low-income subgroup, whose statewide rank fell from the 69th percentile to the 15th and then the 12th — about 47 points below the school's overall standing — even as the special education subgroup holds at the 61st percentile. In short: a dramatically improved, solidly above-state school with an unusually strong 5th grade and science program, a weak 3rd-grade pipeline, and a large internal gap in how well it serves its low-income students.
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