Vernonia Middle School

Vernonia Middle School is a small rural public school in Vernonia, Oregon, serving 139 students in grades 6–8 as part of Vernonia School District 47J. Its 2025–2026 rank is 261st of 371 Oregon middle schools (30th percentile, 1 star), while its district ranks 79th of 141 districts (44th percentile, 2 stars). The school rebounded from the 5th–9th percentile in 2021–2023 to the 37th–38th percentile in 2023–2025, then slipped to the 30th percentile. Enrollment is very small, and 69.78% of students qualified for free/reduced lunch in 2024–2025, up from 43.9% in 2022–2023. Chronic absenteeism is 46.7%, up from 37.1% and well above Oregon’s 33.5%. The student-teacher ratio is 15.4, and per-student spending is $17,699.

Academically, ELA is comparatively healthy: 41.1% proficiency versus 43.8% statewide and 45.1% in the district. Math is the clearest weakness at 12.1%, far below Oregon’s 32.9% and lower than every nearby school: St Helens Middle School 15.8%, Banks Middle School 23.5%, Scappoose Middle School 37.5%, and Otto Petersen Elementary School 31.9%. Science is 25.0%, below the state’s 30.6%, though above St Helens and Banks and below Scappoose and Otto Petersen. Grade-level ELA shows 7th grade at 46.5% and 8th grade at 43.9%, both above state, but 6th grade at 32.5%, below state. Math is weak in every grade: 6th 5.1%, 7th 20.9%, and 8th 9.5%. Eighth-grade science is 25.0% versus 27.7% statewide.

Compared with nearby regional schools, Vernonia is much smaller and has the highest chronic absenteeism. Poverty is high, but Banks (74.8%) and St Helens (73%) are slightly higher, while Scappoose and Otto Petersen are around 32%. Vernonia’s 15.4 student-teacher ratio is the lowest among these schools, and its $17,699 per-student spending is relatively favorable. A bright spot is the low-socioeconomic-status subgroup, which ranked in the 61st percentile with 3 stars in 2025–2026, up from the 5th percentile in 2022–2023 and 30th percentile in 2024–2025; because subgroup data can be volatile in a small school, this should be watched over multiple years. Overall, the school’s main challenges are severe math weakness and high absenteeism, while grades 7–8 ELA results are a relative strength.