Primerly field report
a tuition-free public neighborhood school in Portland
K–8 · Public · Neighborhood · Tuition Option · Riverdale School District ▸ Neighborhood ▸ Out of district can apply for entrance AND interdistrict transfer ▸ If transfer is rejected, may attend by paying tuition as private school
11733 S Breyman Ave, Portland · Grade School Principal: Soph Wolfson
Riverdale Grade School is a K-8 public school in the independent Riverdale School District, which serves the Dunthorpe neighborhood and operates just 2 schools. Literacy instruction follows the science of reading, with K-4 teachers trained through LETRS and phonics taught using 95% Group, while math is built around hands-on materials and project-based learning runs throughout the program.
The arts function as core curriculum rather than enrichment: art is a designated core academic subject with weekly classes, music follows the Orff-Schulwerk model through 4th grade, band is required for a full year in both 5th and 6th grade, and choir, marimba, and advanced band open up as electives in 7th and 8th. Field studies are the school's most distinctive feature, growing in length and independence as students move up through the grades, from day trips in the primary years to a multi-day geological study at Mount St. Helens in 5th grade, Outdoor School in 6th, a week-long World History camp in 7th, and an 8th grade capstone trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Instruction is guided by Coalition of Essential Schools principles under a published Habits of Mind framework, and students continue directly to Riverdale High School, an International Baccalaureate school.
Residents attend tuition-free, while out-of-district families enter an enrollment lottery and pay tuition if their home district denies a transfer release.
Tuition: Tuition-Free Public (residents); $13,686 - $15,362 (2026-2027 non-resident range)
Address: 11733 S Breyman Ave, Portland, OR 97219. Phone: 503-262-4842. Website: riverdalegs.com.
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Seats here aren’t first-come; they’re drawn by lottery. Each circle below is a tenth of the families who applied over the last two springs and stayed in the running (didn’t take a higher-ranked school). Filled circles got a yes.
Official PPS lottery results, 2025-26 & 2026-27 combined: offers made ÷ families still in the running (offered + waitlisted); applications cancelled for a higher-ranked school excluded. pps.net › prior transfer data. Slots reset every year.