Yoncalla Elementary School, Yoncalla OR

Original Research by School Decision on Yoncalla Elementary School

Yoncalla Elementary School serves kindergarten through eighth grade in a single building in the small rural community of Yoncalla, Oregon, a town of roughly a square mile set among rolling oak-covered hills in the Umpqua Valley. The school is the only elementary and middle school in the Yoncalla School District 32, and it sits off Interstate 5 about halfway between Roseburg and Eugene. The local economy has long been tied to lumber and ranching, and the surrounding countryside includes small family-run vineyards at the northern edge of the Umpqua Valley AVA. The town itself has seen a modest population decline in recent years, though the city has publicly reported plans to expand water and wastewater capacity to support future growth.

The school serves kindergarten through eighth grade and enrolls a small student body. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic share and a small share of students identifying as two or more races. The school is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet school.

State assessment results from the most recent testing year show a mixed picture across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, proficiency rates varied widely by grade, with some grades reaching a level that would be considered solid while others fell well below that mark. In math, proficiency rates were lower across all tested grades, with none reaching a level that would be considered strong. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grades, also showed low proficiency. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, sits above the midpoint among districts in Douglas County, though the range across the county is narrow and the index itself is low. Because this is the only year of state assessment data available for the school, there is no trend to compare against.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, special education identification, and English learner status were not available in the source data. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these areas.

Yoncalla Elementary is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It is the only school in the Yoncalla School District 32, and the district's website describes the community as close-knit and rural. The district brief turned up no recent major changes such as boundary shifts, program launches, or leadership transitions that would be relevant to a parent.

Housing in the area is notably more affordable than the state average. The typical home value in the zip code is well below Oregon's statewide benchmark, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home is modest relative to national norms. For families moving to the area, this is a place where homeownership is more attainable than in much of the rest of the state. The town itself is small, with a population that has declined slightly in recent years, though the city has publicly stated it is planning to expand water and wastewater capacity to support future growth.

For a family considering Yoncalla Elementary, the picture is straightforward. This is a small rural school where a large share of students come from low-income households. Academic proficiency on state tests is low overall, with English language arts showing more variation by grade than math, which is consistently low. The school sits in a district that, by the measure of overall proficiency, falls near the middle of the pack among Douglas County districts, but the county's range is narrow and the absolute levels are modest. There is no high school on this campus, so families will need to plan for where their child will attend ninth grade. The community is quiet, affordable by Oregon standards, and set in a landscape of oak-covered hills and vineyards, with Interstate 5 providing a direct route to larger employment centers.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 78%

School 8% · District 8%

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

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 767%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 13%

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

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 24%

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

This schoolYoncalla SD 32, 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.