The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 23% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Manzanita Elementary School
Manzanita Elementary School serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade in Grants Pass, Oregon, as part of the Three Rivers/Josephine County School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school. The school is open and operating.
The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller portion of Hispanic students and a very small share of students who identify as two or more races or as American Indian or Alaska Native. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of low household income that a parent may want to understand in the context of the school's resources and support systems. Data on the share of students with individualized education programs, or who are English learners, was not available from the source we reviewed.
State testing results from the 2024-2025 school year offer a mixed picture. In English language arts, just under half of students in grades three, four, and five met the state proficiency benchmark. In math, the share of students reaching proficiency was lower, hovering around two-fifths, with third graders at the lower end of that range. Fifth-grade science proficiency was notably lower, with about a quarter of students scoring at or above the standard. Compared with the small number of other districts in Josephine County, the school landed in the top quartile on overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, though the county contains only two school districts, so this comparison set is narrow. Only one year of test data was available, so no trend direction can be established.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. This is expected for a K-5 setting and carries no judgment about the school's trajectory.
The school is located in the city of Grants Pass, the county seat of Josephine County, situated on Interstate 5 along the Rogue River in southern Oregon. The city has a historic downtown commercial corridor around G Street, anchored by landmarks like the Caveman Bridge over the Rogue River. Riverside Park hosts a summer concert series and the annual Boatnik hydroplane race and carnival on Memorial Day weekend. Outside the downtown core, the city is largely auto-oriented, with Interstate 5 and a U.S. highway as the main through routes. The population skews older, with a notable retiree presence alongside working families. Housing values in the area are modestly below the state benchmark, and rental prices have been rising at a moderate clip. The city has seen modest population growth since the 2020 census. A significant Supreme Court case originating in Grants Pass, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, addressed the city's ordinances on homeless camping in public spaces, indicating growth-related pressures on housing and public areas.
The district brief was not provided, so we have no information on recent district-level budget changes, boundary adjustments, or strategic initiatives.
Manzanita Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in a regional hub city, serving a student population with high economic need. Academic proficiency in English and math sits below state averages, and fifth-grade science results are a soft spot a parent may want to ask the school about directly, perhaps regarding the science curriculum and instructional resources at that grade level. The school's position in the top quartile among Josephine County's two districts offers limited comparative insight. For a family considering the school, the key questions likely revolve around how the school supports students who are not yet at the proficiency mark, what enrichment or intervention programs exist, and how the school's staff and community address the economic challenges many of its families face. The lack of special education and English learner data is a gap a parent would want to fill through a conversation with the principal or a school tour.
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