Santiam Junior/senior High School, Mill City OR

Original Research by School Decision on Santiam Junior/senior High School

Santiam Junior/Senior High School serves students from sixth through twelfth grade in Mill City, a small town built along the North Santiam River in the western Cascade foothills. The town, originally a timber mill settlement, still houses two operating lumber mills, though many residents now commute to the Willamette Valley for work. Mill City suffered heavy damage in the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire, and the community is still in a recovery and rebuilding phase. The school is part of the Santiam Canyon School District, which serves the wider canyon area.

The school enrolls roughly three hundred students, making it a small combined junior and senior high school. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population and a group identifying as two or more races each making up a meaningful share. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher-poverty context compared to many in the region.

State assessment results from the most recent testing year show that proficiency rates vary by grade and subject. In math, sixth graders reached proficiency at a rate similar to some schools in the area, while seventh and eighth graders tested at much lower levels. In English language arts, the sixth-grade cohort again performed stronger than the seventh and eighth grades. Science results for eighth graders were low. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quarter relative to districts in Linn County. The data available covers only a single year, so it is not possible to see a trend, but the current picture is one of consistent academic challenge.

A notable gap in the data is the absence of a four-year graduation rate, which was not reported in the available state figures. Families looking into the school may wish to ask the administration directly about graduation outcomes and postsecondary plans for seniors. No information was available on advanced coursework, career and technical education programs, or dual-credit offerings, so the breadth of academic pathways beyond the core curriculum is unclear from the data provided.

The school operates as a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It is not possible to assess chronic absenteeism or discipline rates from the information on hand, and staffing details were also not reported. The data does not indicate whether the school receives Title I funding, but given the share of students from low-income households, it is a reasonable question for a parent to raise.

The surrounding housing market shows typical home values roughly in line with national levels, and the area has been growing modestly since the 2020 census, though recovery from the fire remains an ongoing factor. The town is compact, built along the river and Highway 22, with limited street life and a rural canyon setting. For families considering a move, the commute to Salem and the Willamette Valley is a common one for local workers.

Santiam Junior/Senior High School offers a combined middle and high school experience in a small, rural community that has endured a recent natural disaster and is still rebuilding. The academic performance data points to areas of significant challenge, particularly in the upper middle grades, and families would want to explore what supports and programs the school provides to address those gaps. Without broader information on curricula, extracurriculars, and graduation pathways, the full picture of student life and opportunity is incomplete from the available records.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

60-79%Cohort of 30 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

326 schools plotted. 10 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 28% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 77%

School 7% · District 29% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 87%

School 7% · District 25% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 44% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 79%

School 9% · District 39% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 36% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 24% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolSantiam Canyon SD 129J, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.