The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in English language arts. The lowest is 10% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Winter Lakes Elementary
Winter Lakes Elementary is an alternative school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Coquille, a small Oregon city that functions as the seat of Coos County. The town’s economy is rooted in the timber industry, with Roseburg Forest Products operating a plywood facility and county government providing employment. Coquille’s population has been declining modestly in recent years. The school sits within the Coquille School District, which in 2021 passed a bond for facility improvements including new roofs, HVAC upgrades, and safety enhancements, work that continues to influence the learning environment.
The student body is small for a school that spans nine grades. A substantial majority of students are White, with Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races each making up roughly one in ten. Very small shares identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and as American Indian or Alaska Native. No Asian or Black students are enrolled. More than seven in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that points to significant economic need in the community. Data on students with disabilities and English learners are not reported, a gap that interested families may want to discuss with the school directly.
Academic performance on Oregon’s state assessments is very low across the board. In math, proficiency rates in the grades where results are not suppressed stand at roughly one in ten for third and seventh graders and about one in five for eighth graders. In English language arts, proficiency rates range from about one in ten for eighth graders to about one in three for seventh graders, with a figure near one in six for sixth graders. Science results for eighth grade show about one in ten proficient. For fourth and fifth grades in math and third and fourth grades in ELA, the numbers were too small to report. Where small cohorts did yield data, results fell in the lowest reported range, indicating no more than a handful of students meeting the bar. Only one year of testing data is available for this school, so no trend can be assessed.
When compared with districts across Coos County, Winter Lakes Elementary lands in the bottom quarter for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. The school’s status as an alternative school is worth noting. Alternative programs often serve students who have struggled in conventional settings, which can influence aggregate assessment results. No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access are available, and the school does not offer a high school program, so there is no graduation rate. The absence of these metrics means a parent cannot fully evaluate the school’s environment or supports from this data alone.
The community context is a small inland valley town with a compact downtown, historic buildings, a river with recreational fishing, and proximity to the Oregon coast. Housing values in the area are below the state median. For families considering Winter Lakes Elementary, the school is clearly a specialized setting. The test results are low. Many relevant descriptors of the student experience are not publicly reported. A conversation with the school about its mission, its student population, and how it addresses academic challenges would be a sensible next step for any parent trying to determine fit.
See more original research from School Decision →