The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Science. The lowest is 55% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Dry Creek Elementary
Dry Creek Elementary serves children from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and is one of the elementary schools in the Port Angeles School District. It sits within the city of Port Angeles, a community that functions as the primary urban center on the North Olympic Peninsula and the seat of Clallam County. The city is a mix of residential neighborhoods, a working waterfront and harbor, and commercial and government offices, all set against the backdrop of Olympic National Park. Major local employers include the federal government, the Coast Guard, Peninsula College, the Port of Port Angeles, and healthcare and maritime industries. The city has seen modest population growth in recent years, and its geography is constrained between the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The school itself is a regular public school and a neighborhood elementary serving a sizable student enrollment for its grade band. A substantial share of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a data point that indicates a significant level of economic need among the families the school serves. The student population is diverse. Roughly half of the students are white, while the remainder includes a notable share of American Indian or Alaska Native students, a sizable group of students who identify as two or more races, and a meaningful Hispanic population. Smaller numbers of Asian, Black, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students are also enrolled. This composition reflects the broader community, which has a strong connection to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, as evidenced by bilingual street signs and the history surrounding the Tse-whit-zen discovery in Port Angeles. Data on the share of students with an identified disability or who are English learners were not available for this school.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, Dry Creek Elementary recorded results that varied by grade and subject. In English language arts, a little more than half of the tested students across grades three through six met the state’s proficiency standard, with performance ranging from roughly half of fourth graders up to just over two-thirds of fifth graders. In math, just over half of the tested students in each grade from three through six met the bar, with third graders showing the highest proficiency rate. On the fifth-grade science exam, three-quarters of students were proficient, a notably strong showing. For a school serving a high-need population, the overall proficiency picture across tested subjects places Dry Creek Elementary in the top quartile relative to other districts in Clallam County. Because this comparison is set at the district level and the school sits within a single district, the positioning should be interpreted with the understanding that it is a relative measure across the county rather than a direct school-by-school ranking; still, the achievement levels are higher than what you would typically find in the middle of the county’s districts. Only one year of data is available in the academic trend, so there is no way to see whether performance has been moving up or down.
This is a pre-K through sixth-grade school, so there is no high school graduation rate to report. A parent or resident looking into this school may want to follow up directly with the school or district for additional context on student support programs and special education services, since specific figures on those areas were not included in the available data. The district itself, by the information provided, has been through no major publicly reported changes recently that would alter the context of the school, so Dry Creek operates within a stable district environment.
For families considering the area, Port Angeles offers a traditional small-city layout with a downtown that serves a mix of locals and visitors. Housing in the area has seen some appreciation. The school itself is a central part of the community fabric, integrated into the city rather than isolated on a remote campus. The combination of a diverse student body, a significant share of students from lower-income households, and academic performance that stands above the midpoint of the county suggests a school that is doing meaningful work with the population it serves. The strong science result in fifth grade is an area a parent might look into further if a particular focus on STEM learning is a priority.
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