The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in Math. The lowest is 30% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Timberlake Es
Timberlake Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through eighth grade in the small, rural town of Jet, Oklahoma. The school is the only elementary and middle-grade campus in the Timberlake district; students who continue past eighth grade commute about thirteen miles south to the district’s high school in Helena. Jet itself is an agricultural community that has seen a steady population decline over recent decades, and the local housing market reflects that contraction—home values are low and have dropped recently, making the area very affordable but also signaling limited economic momentum. The town has few retail services and no traditional downtown campus; the elementary school occupies the building that once housed Jet-Nash High School.
The school enrolls a small student body, the vast majority of whom are white, with small numbers of Hispanic and Native American students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available in the reviewed records, so a parent seeking that information would want to ask the school directly. The school’s grade span means there is no graduation rate to report.
Academically, Timberlake ES posts results that, when averaged across all tested grades and subjects, place it at the top among the four districts in Alfalfa County. That composite strength, however, masks considerable variation by grade and subject. In fourth-grade math, for example, a majority of students met the state proficiency standard, and the school’s overall performance in the early-to-middle elementary years tends to be solid. But performance drops sharply in the upper grades. Eighth-grade math and English language arts proficiency rates are low, and science results for that grade were suppressed due to small group size—a common pattern when a cohort is very small. Results for several other grade levels were also suppressed for the same reason, which makes it difficult to get a full picture of student achievement across every grade. Oklahoma recently changed its cut scores for math and English assessments, so comparing this year’s results to prior years is not straightforward.
The school appears to provide a typical rural pathway: a single building housing all elementary and middle grades, with students moving to a separate high school later. No information was available on course offerings, advanced coursework, or career-oriented programs. A parent considering Timberlake ES would want to investigate how the school supports students who struggle in the upper grades, given the dip in eighth-grade outcomes, and how it prepares its middle-schoolers for the transition to the district high school. The peer environment is small and homogeneous, which may suit families who prefer a close-knit, low-density setting. The broader context of population decline and a contracting local economy means that the school is operating in a community that has been losing residents, a factor that can affect everything from enrollment stability to local tax support.
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