Hawthorne Elementary School

Hawthorne Elementary School is a K–6 school in Sweet Home, Oregon, serving 260 students in Sweet Home School District 55. Its 2025–26 rank is 475th of 709 Oregon schools (33rd percentile, 2 stars), below the district’s 46th percentile. The school has improved from a very low base—7th percentile in 2014–15, 44th in 2021–22, then 20th in 2023–24—and recovered to 33rd in 2025–26. It serves a high-poverty population: 74.23% qualified for free/reduced lunch in 2024–25, up from 68.49% in 2022–23. Per-student spending was $18,384, and the student–teacher ratio improved to 15.2 from 18.2.

Academically, the school’s English language arts proficiency is 38.9%, slightly above the district’s 37.4% but below Oregon’s 43.8%. Math is 26.6%, below the district’s 28.9% and state’s 32.9%; 5th-grade math is a severe weak spot at 13.3%. Science is the starkest concern: all-grade and 5th-grade science are both 6.7%, versus 20.8% in the district and 30.6% statewide. Nearby, Oak Heights Elementary School has similar ELA, math, and free/reduced lunch rates, but its science proficiency is 45.9%, a large same-district gap. Holley Elementary School and Sweet Home Charter School also post higher proficiency, though the charter serves a lower-poverty population. One bright spot is attendance: the school’s chronic absenteeism is 27.7%, below the district’s 40.2% and state’s 33.5%, and better than Holley Elementary School, Oak Heights Elementary School, and Foster Elementary School.

Subgroup results add nuance. The school’s effectiveness ranking is strong for special education students (79th percentile, 4 stars) and low-income students (82nd percentile, 4 stars), while its overall rank remains middle-low because outcomes are uneven across other student groups. Resources appear favorable: the 15.2 student–teacher ratio is the best among same-district nearby schools, and per-student spending is mid-to-upper locally. Yet math and science remain below district and state levels, suggesting targeted instructional improvement—especially in upper-elementary math and science—and continued attention to attendance may matter more than broad resourcing alone. Sweet Home Charter School and Sand Ridge Charter School post much higher proficiency with lower reported spending, but they also have lower free/reduced lunch rates, so the comparison is not apples-to-apples.