Woodlawn Elementary School vs Winterhaven School

Woodlawn Elementary School and Winterhaven School sit 5.5 miles apart in Portland, Oregon, and are separated by just 0.3 overall rating points — Woodlawn at 9.4/10 and Winterhaven at 9.1/10. In state context, both schools rank among Oregon's best out of 1,226 schools: Woodlawn holds the #16 position while Winterhaven comes in at #38. That gap is narrow in absolute terms, but the schools diverge sharply on the measures underneath it.

Winterhaven School leads on academic score by a substantial margin — a 10.0/10 versus Woodlawn Elementary School's 9.1/10, a full point difference that reflects stronger tested proficiency outcomes at Winterhaven. Woodlawn edges ahead on growth, posting a 9.8/10 growth score against Winterhaven's 9.6/10. That means Woodlawn is advancing students further along their individual trajectories relative to peers, even as Winterhaven's student body achieves higher absolute proficiency levels overall.

The equity and demographic profiles of these two schools are starkly different. Woodlawn Elementary School serves 299 students with 64% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, while Winterhaven School's 315 students include just 23% — a 41-percentage-point gap in economic disadvantage. Woodlawn also offers a lower student-teacher ratio of 16.6:1 compared to Winterhaven's 19.7:1, meaning students at Woodlawn have access to more individual teacher attention despite the school serving a significantly higher-need population. That combination — stronger growth scores and smaller class sizes — suggests Woodlawn is delivering above-expectation outcomes for its community.

The two schools also differ in grade configuration. Woodlawn Elementary School serves grades PK through 5, making it a traditional elementary experience that feeds into a separate middle school. Winterhaven School runs from kindergarten through grade 8, allowing families to keep children in the same building through middle school. Winterhaven's K–8 structure is a meaningful logistical and community consideration for families weighing continuity, while Woodlawn's pre-K entry point gives it a year's head start for the youngest learners.