Julius a Wendt Elementary/john C Thomas Middle School, Cathlamet WA

Original Research by School Decision on Julius a Wendt Elementary/john C Thomas Middle School

Julius A Wendt Elementary and John C Thomas Middle School share a single campus in Cathlamet, the small riverfront county seat of rural Wahkiakum County. The combined school serves kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school in the Wahkiakum School District. Because it does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.

Enrollment is small, with roughly a couple hundred students across the elementary and middle grades. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up a meaningful share and smaller numbers of students identifying as two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, or Black. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic makeup of this rural community. State testing data for students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, performance varied notably by grade and subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades three through eight clustered in a range from roughly a third to just under two-thirds, with fifth and seventh graders posting the higher figures and third graders the lower ones. In math, the range was wider and generally lower, with fourth graders reaching a proficiency rate near three-fifths while fifth graders and eighth graders each landed around a fifth. Science results, available for fifth and eighth graders, showed about half of fifth graders proficient and a lower share of eighth graders hitting that mark.

Because Wahkiakum County contains only one school district, there is no within-county comparison that can be drawn. The school sits alone in its county context.

Cathlamet itself is a compact town. Most destinations including the school are within walking distance of the downtown core, though street life is quiet in everyday terms outside of the annual Bald Eagle Days festival, which closes Main Street for a parade and street fair. The town has a public library, community center, marina, and a public swimming pool. State Route 4 is the primary road link, and a county-operated ferry crosses the Columbia River to Westport, Oregon. The town has seen modest population growth in recent years and is described as attracting new residents from more metropolitan areas while retaining its small-town character. No major housing developments or large-scale commercial projects were identified in publicly available sources. Major employers appear to be the Town of Cathlamet itself, the school district, Wahkiakum County government, and the waterfront's tugboat and commercial fishing operations, though no formal employer ranking was published.

The Wahkiakum School District's website and public records did not show lasting parent-relevant changes such as boundary adjustments, program launches, or facility plans in recent years. A parent considering this school would be looking at a small, rural K-8 setting with a student body that reflects the surrounding county, state test results that show inconsistent proficiency across grades and subjects, and a community that is accessible on foot within town but requires a car to reach the broader region.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 11 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 4 pts below state median

This schoolWahkiakum 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-income30%Higher-income40%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income67%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income69%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income50%0 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income57%Higher-income60%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income67%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income47%Higher-income75%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income31%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income40%7 pp gap