The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Yolanda Elementary School
Yolanda Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Springfield School District. It sits in a mid-sized city that was long shaped by the timber industry and has since broadened into healthcare, technology, and other sectors, with PeaceHealth now the largest employer. The city has a traditional downtown with a historic district and a renovated theater, while the surrounding neighborhoods range from older blocks near downtown to more suburban areas farther out. Most of Springfield is served by its own school district, which operates more than a dozen elementary schools, and this school is one of them.
State testing results from the most recent year show that in math, the share of students meeting the proficiency standard declined sharply from the third grade to the fourth and fifth grades. English language arts proficiency followed a similar pattern, with the third grade near the halfway mark and the upper grades below that. In science, which is tested only in fifth grade, proficiency was below one in five students. Because only one year of assessment data is available, there is no trend to examine. When the school’s combined proficiency across all tested subjects and grades is placed alongside the districts in Lane County, it falls below the midpoint. This is a soft spot a parent may want to discuss further with the school, especially since elementary years are foundational.
No graduation rate applies here because the school ends at fifth grade. Information on special education enrollment and English learner status was not available in the data, so a family with questions about those supports should ask directly.
The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population as the largest minority group and smaller shares of students identifying as two or more races, Asian, Black, or other categories. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a common proxy for economic need.
The school building is located on Yolanda Avenue in a residential part of Springfield. Housing in this area is priced below Oregon’s statewide median but above the national median, reflecting a market that has seen rents rise over recent years. The city has been working on neighborhood-level planning for several areas, and the economy has diversified away from its earlier dependence on timber toward healthcare and technology, which has brought some stability but not rapid boom. No major district-level changes such as bond measures or curriculum shifts were reported in a search of recent sources, so the operational context appears steady.
Yolanda Elementary is a neighborhood school with a moderate enrollment and a demographic profile that mirrors much of the city. The academic results on state assessments are mixed, with lower proficiency in the upper elementary grades. Families whose priority is a clear track record of strong test scores may want to investigate the school’s instructional approaches and any academic interventions in place. For those who value a familiar, walkable setting within a city that is still transitioning from its industrial past, this school sits in an accessible part of town with housing that is more attainable than in many parts of the state.
See more original research from School Decision →