Morton Elementary School, Morton WA

Original Research by School Decision on Morton Elementary School

Morton Elementary School is a regular public school in the small, rural town of Morton in eastern Lewis County, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is the only elementary school in the Morton School District and feeds into Morton Junior-Senior High School. The town itself is a compact historic community in a valley near Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, with a timber-based economy anchored by two lumber mills and a local hospital. Population growth has been modest and development project-based; there are no major new housing developments on the horizon. Housing values in Morton run well below state averages, reflecting the rural setting and the area’s economic base.

Enrollment at Morton Elementary is modest for its grade band, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the profile, so families who want a full picture of special education or language support services may wish to follow up directly with the school.

Academically, the school participates in Washington’s state testing program. On the Smarter Balanced assessments in English language arts and math, proficiency rates vary by grade level. In ELA, the share of students meeting the bar fluctuates across grades three through six, landing in a modest range. In math, proficiency is lower and shows a declining pattern from the early tested grades into the upper elementary years. Science results, from the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science, are stronger relative to the school’s own math and ELA numbers, with a moderate share of fifth graders reaching proficiency. Compared to other districts in Lewis County, Morton Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint of the county’s school districts, which is a relative bright spot. Graduation rate data does not apply because the school ends at sixth grade.

The school environment lacks some publicly reported detail. Information on discipline, staffing ratios, attendance, and chronic absenteeism was not available, so a parent or guardian may want to inquire about those areas during a school visit. The school is not a charter or magnet school; it operates as a traditional neighborhood public school.

Housing in Morton is relatively affordable, especially when set against the state housing market. The town’s downtown core includes a restored theater, an arts center, and a community park along the Tilton River. A weekday bus route connects Morton to Centralia, and the town has a small municipal airport. The local economy is stable but not fast-growing, and the community has maintained its character through volunteer-led projects and civic anchors like the Loggers’ Jubilee and the Fire Mountain Arts Council.

For a family considering Morton Elementary, the school offers a small, rural setting with a higher-poverty student body and academic results that are within the middle range of Lewis County. The strengths are relative to that county comparison, not to statewide or national averages, so families moving from higher-performing areas may want to calibrate expectations. The school’s modest enrollment, PK-6 configuration, and status as the sole elementary feeder into the district’s junior-senior high mean that students move through the system together. The district as a whole did not have recent significant changes reported publicly, suggesting a period of stability.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 348%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 30%

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

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 52%

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

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 42%

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

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

This schoolMorton School District, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income73%35 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income40%Higher-income39%1 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income39%Higher-income46%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income47%Higher-income39%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income31%2 pp gap