Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 97302

Elementary Schools in zip code 97302 include six K–5 schools in Salem-Keizer School District 24J, serving 1,780 students in a high-poverty Salem area where free/reduced lunch averages about 88.4% and per-student spending averages roughly $22,183. Enrollment ranges from 245 at Salem Heights Elementary School to 378 at Wright Elementary School, and all six schools serve free/reduced lunch rates between 87.46% and 89.39%.

Academically, Candalaria Elementary School is the standout: 84th percentile, 4 stars, with 66.4% ELA, 50.0% math, and 42.6% science, plus the lowest chronic absenteeism at 22.7%. Morningside Elementary School is also strong at the 80th percentile with 4 stars, 60.1% ELA, 47.8% math, and 42.4% science, and the lowest student-teacher ratio at 17.5. Wright Elementary School and Schirle Elementary School are more mixed: the former has 3 stars and beats district averages in all three subjects but has the highest absenteeism at 40.3%, while the latter is steady at 3 stars with 50.0% ELA and 36.2% math but weaker science at 24.0%.

At the lower end, McKinley Elementary School has 2 stars and declining percentile rank, with 34.7% ELA and 27.3% math despite the highest per-student spending at $23,824. Salem Heights Elementary School ranks 587th of 709 at the 17th percentile with 1 star and the lowest ELA, math, and science results, including just 12.2% 5th-grade math. Across all six, averages—ELA 47.6%, math 36.3%, science 32.4%—are above district and state levels, and average chronic absenteeism is 32.0%, below the district’s 43.1% but just under the state’s 33.5%. Poverty is universal here, but outcomes vary widely, and spending or class size alone do not predict achievement.