The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 40% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Bordeaux Elementary School
Bordeaux Elementary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Shelton, the county seat of Mason County. The city is a modestly growing regional hub for retail and government services with a deep industrial history in logging and lumber milling. Major employers include Sierra Pacific Industries, Green Diamond Resource Company, Mason General Hospital, and county government, while the downtown core along Railroad Avenue retains historic character and the north end of town has a more auto-oriented retail corridor. The school sits within the Shelton School District, which has recently added a small personalized high school option and a new elementary school, reflecting some investment in diverse learning environments.
Bordeaux Elementary is home to a student body that reflects the area’s demographics. The school serves a large share of students from low-income households, with eligibility for free or reduced-price meals at a rate well above what many communities see. The student population is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic representation and smaller shares of students who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, two or more races, Black, Asian, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The grade range runs from kindergarten through fourth grade, so the school is an entry point for families starting their children in the district.
On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, third graders at Bordeaux showed proficiency in English language arts at a rate that sat just above the midpoint for the school. Math proficiency for that same third-grade group was also around that level. Fourth-grade results were softer, with English language arts proficiency falling below the midpoint and math proficiency lower still. When looking across all tested grades and subjects together, the school’s overall proficiency index ranks above the midpoint among districts in Mason County. That is a reasonable signal of academic performance relative to other schools in the area, though it is worth noting that the comparison is a single composite snapshot of limited grades.
Because Bordeaux only serves primary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school’s testing data comes solely from grades three and four, and there is no science assessment for those grades in the most recent year. The district brief notes that Evergreen Elementary, another school in Shelton, offers a dual language program; there was no mention of a similar offering at Bordeaux. Information on the percentage of students receiving special education services or designated as English learners was not available in the data provided, so a family with a child who has an individualized education plan or is learning English should ask the school directly about those supports.
The housing context for families considering the area shows home values and rents that are more affordable than the state average, which is typical for a smaller city outside the Seattle metro. The estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home is lower than rent in the area, a dynamic that may matter for families deciding between renting and buying. The price-to-income ratio suggests homeownership requires a meaningful share of local household income, but the gap relative to state benchmarks means Shelton remains one of the more accessible markets in Washington for buyers.
A parent reading this profile should know that Bordeaux Elementary is a regular public school in a working city with a resource-based economy, serving a diverse-by-income student body. Its test results are mixed, with third-grade performance a relative strength and fourth-grade math an area where a family would want to understand what supports the school provides. The school’s small grade span means children will move on to another elementary or intermediate school after fourth grade, so the feeder pattern into later grades is something to investigate. The district has made recent additions to its school options, including a new elementary building and an alternative high school, signaling some responsiveness to changing needs.
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