Buff Elementary School

As a mid-tier elementary-level community in Madras, Oregon, Buff Elementary School teaches 297 students from grades K through 5, operated by Jefferson County SD 509J.

Buff Elementary School is one of 9 schools operated by Jefferson County SD 509J, a district that hosts 2,712 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Buff Elementary School logs that 49% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school logs 39% White, 7% Native American, 5% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 21% Hispanic, putting the school's mix noticeably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 16.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 102% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Jefferson County (around 93%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Buff Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 23.1%, the actual is 33.2%, a residual of +10.1 points.

Around the school, Jefferson County reports that median household earnings sit near $76,260, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Buff Elementary School is one of 13 public schools in Jefferson County (combined enrollment of about 3,386 students).

Nearest neighbor: Madras High School, around 0.1 miles off. 6 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Buff Elementary School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 23.7%.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Buff Elementary School has fell 7%, going from 319 students in 2018 to 297 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 18.8:1 in 2018 to 13.5:1 today.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.