The top reported proficiency rate is 60% in English language arts. The lowest is 52% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hillcrest Elementary School
Hillcrest Elementary School is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in North Bend, a compact coastal city on Coos Bay in southwestern Oregon. Hillcrest sits at 1100 Main Street, within the North Bend SD 13. The school’s enrollment is moderate for its elementary-only grade band.
North Bend itself is a historically working-class community with roots in timber, shipbuilding, and fishing, with tourism and hospitality now a notable part of the economy thanks to The Mill Casino and Hotel, which is owned by the Coquille Indian Tribe. The city has a small downtown core along California Avenue and a waterfront boardwalk completed in recent years. The population has been declining slightly over the last half-decade, and home values in the area have edged down, both locally and relative to the state. Housing is notably more affordable than the Oregon median. Most residents work locally, with a short average commute.
Hillcrest’s student body is predominantly white, with a significant Hispanic presence and a small number of students who identify as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher-need economic context compared to many elementary schools. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so the school’s support infrastructure for those populations is not possible to evaluate from available information.
Academically, Hillcrest stands apart from other schools in its county. On the Oregon Statewide Assessment System, the school’s combined proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Coos County. That is a meaningful distinction given that most county districts fall below the state average. At Hillcrest, third graders in reading and math, fourth graders in both subjects, and fifth graders in reading all cleared the state proficiency bar by a notable margin. Fifth-grade math and science results were lower than the school’s own reading scores but still well ahead of typical county performance. The overall picture is of a school where a clear majority of students meet state standards, with the strongest results in upper-grade reading.
Because Hillcrest serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, no chronic absenteeism data, and no secondary course access information available. A single year of assessment data was available for the school, making trend analysis impossible; parents should check with the district or school for any prior-year comparisons.
The district itself, North Bend SD 13, appears to have been stable in recent years. No major bond measures, curriculum changes, or property tax shifts surfaced in publicly available records, though parents may want to ask the district office directly about any ongoing facility planning or program adjustments.
For a family considering Hillcrest, the core takeaway is that it delivers above-average academic results for its region in a setting that is economically diverse and fairly homogenous in terms of race. The school is not a high-opt in for an affluent suburb — its peer group is the working coastal towns of Coos County, and by that measure it is performing well. The school does not serve older grades, so a family with children across K-12 will need to consider North Bend’s middle and high schools separately. The town of North Bend offers a quiet, modestly priced housing market with a mix of downtown walkability and auto-oriented commercial strips, and has been stable rather than rapidly growing.
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