The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Math. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on P C Jantz Elementary
P C Jantz Elementary is a regular public school in Odessa, Washington, serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The school has a small enrollment for its grade band, and the student body is predominantly White, with a noticeable share of Hispanic students and a smaller number of multiracial students. The community context matters here: Odessa is a small rural town in the Channeled Scablands of eastern Lincoln County, with an economy rooted in wheat farming and local healthcare. The town’s population has been shrinking over recent years, even as median home values have risen substantially, a pattern that points to an aging population and limited new in-migration. Housing is more affordable than the state average, which may appeal to families looking to enter the market in a quieter setting. The district overall has seen a notable improvement in its graduation rate over the last several years, though that metric applies to the high school level, not this elementary school.
Academically, P C Jantz Elementary’s state assessment results give a mixed picture. Across the tested grades in math and English language arts, roughly half of students met the proficiency standard in a given year, a level that places the school above the midpoint among Lincoln County districts when all subjects are averaged together. In math, outcomes for third and fourth grade are in that range, and sixth grade is similar. In reading, fifth grade shows a somewhat higher share of students reaching proficiency, while third and fourth grade are around the same midpoint. Science, tested only in fifth grade, has a lower share of students meeting the standard—a soft spot a parent may want to look into further with the school. Testing data for fifth-grade math was suppressed for privacy reasons due to small group sizes, which is common in small schools. No multi-year trend is available because only a single year of results was reported, so a family cannot see whether performance is rising or falling.
The school environment reflects its small, rural setting. The building is within the compact town footprint, alongside the district’s other school facilities, the public library, and a hospital. Roughly half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a meaningful share of households with lower income. No discipline, chronic absenteeism, or staffing data was available for this report, and the school does not report the share of students with disabilities or English learners—gaps that may simply reflect the small size and limited public reporting. The district has increased its capital spending substantially in recent years, suggesting investment in facilities that could benefit students.
For a parent, this school fits a family seeking a small, community-anchored elementary experience in a rural town where housing is relatively reasonable and daily life revolves around local events like Deutschesfest and the Desert motorcycle race. The academic pathway through sixth grade is solid but not standout; the scores hover near the county midpoint, with science being an area where support might be warranted. The peer group is largely homogeneous, and class sizes are small enough that individual attention is plausible. Students will move on to a separate middle and high school within the same district, so families should consider the full K-12 pathway when evaluating the Odessa School District.
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