Central Elementary School

Central Elementary School, a middle-of-the-pack elementary school in La Grande, Oregon, run under La Grande SD 1, caters to 403 students, covering grades K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 26% above the state mean of about 321.

Within La Grande SD 1, which oversees 5 schools and 2,014 students, Central Elementary School is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Central Elementary School lists that the largest single group is White, at 75% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school reports 8% Hispanic, 7% Pacific Islander, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Union County as a whole is about 88% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, The school reports having 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 16.5:1, putting Central Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 66% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Central Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 37.0%; this one delivers 42.8%.

In the broader community, census data for Union County shows median household earnings sit near $65,661, about 26% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. In all, Union County runs 13 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,646 students), of which Central Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is La Grande High School, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 4 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Central Elementary School comes 3rd of 8 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 36.6%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Central Elementary School's enrollment has fell 21% since 2018, when it stood at 507 (now 403). Class-load math has narrowed: from 21.3:1 in 2018 to 15.3:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the Central Elementary School community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.