The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Math. The lowest is 38% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Morton Junior-senior High
Morton Junior-Senior High is a small combined middle and high school in the town of Morton, in the eastern part of Lewis County, Washington. The town itself sits in a valley between two major Cascade peaks, with an economy historically centered on timber processing, now supported by two lumber mills and tourism drawn by outdoor recreation. Morton is a compact historic community; its downtown along Main Street holds the restored Roxy Theater, an art gallery, and the Tiller Arts and Events Center, while the schools sit on separate campuses a short distance away. Centralia College East is adjacent to the junior-senior high, offering college coursework to students in the same building complex.
The school’s enrollment is small, which is typical for a rural combined-secondary school. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up a meaningful share and very small numbers of students from other racial backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
On state assessments, Morton Junior-Senior High’s proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science sit at varying levels that, taken together, place the school in the above-the-midpoint range when compared to other districts in Lewis County. In the most recent testing year, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades ranked in the top quartile among the county’s districts, meaning that among a cohort where the middle performer sits at one proficiency level and the maximum sits higher, Morton lands on the stronger side of that middle. That said, within the school itself, performance across individual grade levels and subjects shows variation. In math, one tested grade posted a stronger result than the other, and in English language arts, the pattern is similar, with one grade performing at a higher proficiency rate than the other. Science results for the one tested grade sit at a rate that a parent may want to look into further with the school.
Because Morton Junior-Senior High serves students all the way through grade 12, a graduation rate would normally appear here, but the data available did not include one. Similarly, chronic absenteeism data and discipline data were not present in the source information. A parent asking about those topics would need to ask the school directly.
The school’s setting in a small town with a rural character means that daily life for many families involves a car for commuting to school and for errands, though the downtown itself is walkable. Housing values in the area are below the state median, which is a point of contrast for families moving from more expensive parts of Washington. The broader Lewis County unemployment rate was running near the national rate, and the national median household income provides some context for evaluating local incomes against home costs.
The district did not have recently reported strategic changes, facility renovations, or program additions that would shift the picture for an incoming family. What is on offer at Morton Junior-Senior High is a small-school environment in a town with a stable, project-based development pattern, a timber-and-tourism economy, and a set of state-testing results that are above the county average but uneven across subjects and grades. For a family that values a small, rural combined secondary school with a connection to a college campus next door and a town that hosts community traditions like the Loggers’ Jubilee, this school presents a clear option. A family comparing schools should seek the school’s own information on graduation rates, postsecondary outcomes, and course pathways to round out the picture.
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