The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 14% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Garibaldi Elementary School
Garibaldi Elementary School is a small public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the working fishing village of Garibaldi on the Oregon coast. The town itself is compact, built around the Port of Garibaldi and its marina, with commercial fishing, charter boats, seafood processing, and a hardwood mill anchoring the local economy. Tourism adds a secondary layer—motels, RV parks, restaurants, and the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad depot draw visitors, but the town’s population has declined from a mid-twentieth-century peak after mill closures, and the median age suggests a retirement-aged residential base alongside the working waterfront. Housing in the area has seen a recent modest decrease in values, while statewide values have also edged down slightly. For a family considering this school, the immediate context is a small, slow-changing coastal community where the port defines daily life.
Academically, Garibaldi Elementary posts proficiency rates across tested subjects that place it below the midpoint among the three districts in Tillamook County. In English language arts, the share of students meeting state standards varies by grade, with one grade level reaching about half proficient and neighboring grades somewhat lower. Math proficiency is lower across all tested grades, with a notable decline from third to fifth grade. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows a small share of students meeting the bar. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to consider, and the available testing data covers a single year, so no trend is yet visible. A parent may want to ask the school directly about instructional approaches in math and how the school supports students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.
The student body is small and predominantly White, with a Hispanic share that aligns with the county’s demographics. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant portion of families have lower household incomes. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials, so a family with a child who has an individualized education plan or is learning English would need to contact the school to understand what services are in place.
Garibaldi Elementary is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. No information was available about specific programs such as art, music, or enrichment offerings, nor about staffing ratios, discipline incidents, or chronic absenteeism. Those gaps are worth noting—families often want to know about class sizes, specialist teachers, and the school’s approach to student behavior and attendance, and none of that is captured in the data used here.
The school sits within the Neah-Kah-Nie School District 56, which also serves the broader north Tillamook County area. The district’s comprehensive high school is located north of Rockaway Beach, not in Garibaldi itself, so elementary students will eventually transition to a middle and high school outside town. No recent district-level changes—such as curriculum shifts, property tax measures, or facility plans—were identified in the available research, so it is unclear whether any major developments are on the horizon for the district as a whole.
For a parent weighing this school, the picture is mixed. On one hand, Garibaldi Elementary is a small neighborhood school in a tight-knit coastal community where children can walk or take a short ride to school, and where the port and waterfront provide a distinctive local identity. On the other hand, the academic proficiency numbers are soft relative to other districts in the county, particularly in math and science, and the absence of program or staffing data leaves real questions unanswered. A family would be wise to visit, talk with the principal, and ask about the school’s improvement strategies, support for struggling students, and what enrichment is offered, because the available data alone does not fully answer whether this is the right fit.
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