The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in English language arts. The lowest is 33% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Amity Creek Elementary School
Amity Creek Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Bend, Oregon, as a regular public school within the Bend-La Pine Schools district. It is located on NW Wall Street, near the Deschutes River and the downtown core. The school is small, with enrollment that is predominantly white, alongside a modest share of Hispanic students and a very small number of students of two or more races. Just over a fifth of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning the student body is relatively economically homogenous compared to many public schools. The school is not a charter or magnet, and it is not a Title I school; the data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those services.
On state assessments, the school’s results vary notably by grade and subject. In third-grade English language arts, about half of students met proficiency, while fourth-grade results were much stronger, with a large majority of students reaching that bar. Fifth-grade ELA proficiency was lower, roughly where Oregon’s average tends to land. In math, third- and fourth-grade proficiency was solid, with a strong majority of students meeting the standard, but fifth-grade math performance dropped off meaningfully, with fewer than half of students proficient. Fifth-grade science proficiency was lower still, with about a third of students meeting the bar. The overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places Amity Creek in the top quartile among districts in Deschutes County, meaning its composite performance is above the county median. That is a genuinely strong position for the district overall. The drop-off in fifth grade, particularly in math and science, is a soft spot a parent may want to discuss with the school, to understand whether it reflects a curriculum shift, a cohort effect, or something else the school is addressing. There is only a single year of assessment data available, so no trend is observable.
The school sits in Bend, a city that has transformed from a logging town into a fast-growing hub for outdoor recreation and tourism. Mount Bachelor, breweries, and extensive public lands shape the local economy and daily life. The Deschutes River runs through town, and Pilot Butte, an extinct volcano, is within the city limits. Population growth has been rapid, and that growth is reshaping the school district. The Bend-La Pine district passed a large bond in late 2022 to build a new elementary school, expand existing schools, and make safety upgrades. It also opened a new high school in 2021 to relieve overcrowding on the east side. For a family at Amity Creek, these district-level investments signal that the area is still adding capacity to keep pace with enrollment, and that attendance boundaries may shift as the new elementary school comes online.
Housing in Bend is expensive, with home values above the national median and rents that are also high relative to the national benchmark. Buying is considerably more expensive than renting on a monthly basis at current mortgage rates, and the price-to-income ratio suggests homes are a reach for many local households. The unemployment rate has been stable near full-employment levels nationally.
For a parent or resident evaluating Amity Creek, the picture is of a small, economically stable elementary school in a desirable, growing city, with uneven test scores that are strong overall relative to the county but show a notable dip in fifth grade. The school’s performance in fourth-grade ELA stands out as a clear strength, while the fifth-grade results, especially in science and math, are areas a family would want to understand better. The district’s bond-funded construction and the rapid growth of Bend mean the school and its attendance area are likely to see continued change, including potential boundary adjustments. A family considering this school should weigh its academic record, its size, and the broader context of a district and city that are both growing and investing heavily.
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