Summary:
The city of Lafayette, Oregon is home to a single public elementary school, Wascher Elementary School, which serves grades K-5 and is part of the McMinnville School District 40. This school stands out for its relatively small class sizes, with a student-teacher ratio of 14.1, which is the second-best among the district's six elementary schools. However, the school's academic performance has seen a decline in recent years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 170th out of 705 Oregon elementary schools in 2018-2019 to 310th out of 706 in 2022-2023.
Wascher Elementary School's student population is diverse, with a majority of white students (55.35%) and a significant Hispanic population (37.86%). The school also has a high rate of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (72.06%), indicating a large proportion of economically disadvantaged students. While the school's 5th grade English Language Arts proficiency rate (52.9%) is higher than the district (48.6%) and state (47.1%) averages, its 4th and 5th grade Mathematics proficiency rates are lower than the district and state averages.
Despite the school's relatively high spending per student ($17,415), the declining academic performance and the challenges presented by the diverse student population and high poverty rate suggest that the school may need to re-evaluate its strategies and resources to better support student success. Addressing these areas could help Wascher Elementary School improve its overall performance and provide a more equitable and effective education for all its students.
Thank you for your feedback!