Public Schools

A fundamental prerequisite for an equitable society is that all children have access to a quality education.

The Atlas includes a range of maps that depict the quality of educational offerings at the region’s schools. This map series begins our examination of quality education with some basic data about the region’s schools. The first map shows proximity to the nearest elementary school, which gives an indication of school walkability as well as geographic access to neighborhood schools. The second map shows the percentage of minority students by school. The third map shows the percentage of students at each school who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch, which serves as a proxy for poverty.

Proximity to Nearest Elementary School
Percent Minority Students (by School)
Percent Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch (by School)

What the Maps Tell Us: Initial Findings 

The Proximity to Nearest Elementary School map is useful for analyzing the walkability and basic geographic access to schools. (Note: The map measures the walking distance to the nearest elementary school, but the nearest elementary school may not necessarily be the assigned neighborhood school for each address.)
 
The Atlas mapping tool can be used to assign a proximity score to every neighborhood in the region based on the average proximity of every block in the neighborhood to an elementary school. A score of “5” indicates proximities within ¼ mile, while a score of “1” or below indicates proximities greater than 1 mile. The ten neighborhoods with the highest proximity scores to nearby elementary schools are located exclusively in the cities of Portland and Lake Oswego:

Neighborhood

Location

Proximity to Nearest Elementary School

 Portland

5.00

Boise/Eliot

 Portland

4.75

Multnomah County Unclaimed #6 (west of Hollywood District)

 Portland

4.57

Grant Park

 Portland

4.54

Sabin

 Portland

4.43

Westridge

 Lake Oswego

4.40

Multnomah County Unclaimed #5 (north of Grant Park)

 Portland

4.33

Creston-Kenilworth

 Portland

4.33

Clackamas County Unclaimed #4 (south of Glenmorrie)

 Lake Oswego

4.33

Humboldt

 Portland

4.31

The ten neighborhoods with the lowest proximity scores to nearby elementary schools tend to be characterized by primarily industrial, non-residential urban form and land use. Six of these neighborhoods are located in Vancouver, and the remaining four are commercial or industrial areas of Portland:

Neighborhood

Location

Proximity to Nearest Elementary School

Multnomah County Unclaimed #2 (east of Bridgeton)

Portland

0.00

West Hazel Dell

Vancouver

0.47

Bridgeton

Portland

0.60

Riverview

Vancouver

0.62

Hayden Island

Portland and unincorporated Multnomah County

0.67

Columbia Way

Vancouver

0.67

East Old Evergreen Highway

Vancouver and unincorporated Clark County

0.71

Linnton

Portland and unincorporated Multnomah County

0.76

Fruit Valley

Vancouver and unincorporated Clark County

0.81

Esther Short

Vancouver

0.82

The Percent Minority Students (by School) map shows the relative percentage of students of color in each of the region’s public schools. Of the ten schools in the region with the highest percentages of minority students, seven are located in the city of Portland, primarily in north and northeast. The remaining three schools are located in the Washington County cities of Cornelius, Hillsboro and Beaverton:

School Name

Level

Location

% Minority Students

SEI Academy

Middle

Portland (Multnomah County)

100.0 

Humboldt Elementary

Elementary

Portland (Multnomah County)

91.5 

Cornelius Elementary

Elementary

Portland (Multnomah County)

90.9 

Rosa Parks

Elementary

Portland (Multnomah County)

89.4 

Woodlawn Elementary

Elementary

Portland (Multnomah County)

86.8 

Boise-Eliot Elementary

Elementary

Portland (Multnomah County)

86.2 

Cesar Chavez

Elementary and Middle

Portland (Multnomah County)

86.1 

Shaver Elementary

Elementary

Portland (Multnomah County)

85.3 

W.L. Henry Elementary

Elementary

Hillsboro (Washington County)

84.0 

Vose Elementary

Elementary

Beaverton (Washington County)

82.3 

The ten schools in the region with the lowest percentages of minority students are scattered throughout Clackamas and Clark counties, often in more rural areas. Two charter schools in the West Linn / Oregon City area are also on the list:

School Name

Level

% Minority Students

Location

Green Mountain School

Elementary

5.6

Woodland (Clark County)

Hockinson High School

High School

5.6

Bush Prairie (Clark County)

Yacolt Primary School

Elementary

6.2

Yacolt (Clark County)

Colton Middle School

Middle

6.4

Colton (Clackamas County)

Alliance Charter Academy

Grades 1-12

6.5

Oregon City (Clackamas County)

La Center Middle School

Middle

6.5

La Center (Clark County)

Three Rivers Charter School

Middle

6.8

West Linn (Clackamas County)

La Center High School

High School

7.2 

La Center (Clark County)

Amboy Middle School

Middle

7.3

Amboy (Clark County)

Hockinson Heights Intermediate School

Elementary

7.5 

Hockinson (Clark County)

The Percent Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch map shows the relative levels of poverty at the region's public schools, based on the percentage of students whose family incomes make them eligible for subsidized lunch. Of the ten schools in the region with the highest percentages of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch, most are located in Multnomah County in Gresham, north/northeast and outer east Portland. This includes two schools in north Portland, Rosa Parks Elementary and Humboldt Elementary, that are among the ten schools in the region with both the highest percent minority students and highest percent students eligible for free or reduced price lunch. The remaining schools on the list are located in Boring, Welches and Beaverton:

School Name

Level

% Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch

Location

Alder Elementary

Elementary

94.3 

Portland (Multnomah County)

Hartley Elementary

Elementary

94.3 

Gresham (Multnomah County)

Rosa Parks

Elementary

94.2 

Portland (Multnomah County)

Davis Elementary

Elementary

94.2 

Gresham (Multnomah County)

Naas Elementary

Elementary

93.9 

Boring (Clackamas County)

Humboldt Elementary

Elementary

93.8 

Portland (Multnomah County)

Welches Middle

Middle

93.7 

​Welches (Clackamas County)

Merlo Station

High School

93.2 

Beaverton (Washington County)

Centennial Learning Center

Middle and High School

92.6 

Portland (Multnomah County)

Glenfair Elementary

Elementary

92.5 

Portland (Multnomah County)

The ten schools with the lowest percentages of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch are located primarily in Portland’s west hills neighborhoods, Lake Oswego, and Sherwood.

School Name

Level

% Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch

Location

Forest Park Elementary

Elementary

2.2 

Portland (Multnomah County)

Westridge Elementary

Elementary

3.8 

Lake Oswego (Clackamas County)

Findley Elementary

Elementary

4.5 

Portland (Multnomah County)

Ainsworth Elementary

Elementary

5.4 

Portland (Multnomah County)

Middleton Elementary

Elementary

5.8 

Sherwood (Washington County)

Lake Grove Elementary

Elementary

7.1

Lake Oswego (Clackamas County)

Jacob Wismer Elementary

Middle or Junior High

7.3 

Portland (Multnomah County)

Lake Oswego High School

High School

8.2 

Lake Oswego (Clackamas County)

Forest Hills Elementary

Elementary

8.6 

Lake Oswego (Clackamas County)

Stephenson Elementary

Elementary

9.0 

Portland (Multnomah County)

About the Maps 

Proximity to Nearest Elementary School

This map shows the walking distance to the nearest elementary school. The data include public schools and schools with special status (charter and alternative schools), but generally do not include private schools.
 
Though we have mapped the walking distance to the nearest elementary school, the nearest elementary school may not necessarily be the assigned neighborhood school for each address. Furthermore, in some school districts, children may have the option of attending elementary schools outside their catchment areas, meaning that their geographic access to education expands beyond their assigned neighborhood school.
 
Data Source: Metro RLIS 2012

Percent Minority Students (by School)

This map depicts the percentage of students per school that are identified in State Department of Education records as Hispanic, African-American, Asian, Native American, Other, and more than one race. These data have been provided by all public schools and schools with special status (charter and alternative schools), but generally do not include private schools.
 
Data Source: Oregon Department of Education and Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2011-2012

Percent Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch (by School)

This map shows the percentage of K-12 students identified as eligible for the free and reduced price lunch program, by school, for the 2011-2012 academic year. This indicator is often used as a proxy for childhood poverty.

Data Source: Oregon Department of Education and Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2011-2012 

*Some neighborhood boundaries overlap. The Atlas refers to the areas within the overlapping boundaries by the names of both neighborhoods.

This document was downloaded from the Map Series library of the Coalition for a Livable Future’s Regional Equity Atlas 2.0 website. The Regional Equity Atlas is a research and education project to promote widespread opportunity for a stronger, healthier, and more sustainable Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region. For more information, visit www.equityatlas.org.