Cottonwood Creek Elementary

Cottonwood Creek Elementary is one of the substantial elementary campuss in Wasilla, Alaska, part of Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, with 422 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, Alaska's public schools average about 277 students each, so Cottonwood Creek Elementary sits 52% bigger than that benchmark.

Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District runs 49 schools in total, collectively educating 19,495 students. Cottonwood Creek Elementary is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Cottonwood Creek Elementary records that the largest single group is White, at 68% of enrollment; the rest reads as 19% multiracial, 8% Hispanic, 4% Native American. By comparison, Matanuska-Susitna Borough as a whole is about 77% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, The school currently runs with 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.3:1, putting Cottonwood Creek Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Around 38% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Cottonwood Creek Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 40.3%; this one delivers 48.4%.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Matanuska-Susitna Borough put median household earnings sit near $94,031, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Matanuska-Susitna Borough runs 49 public schools (combined enrollment of about 19,495 students), of which Cottonwood Creek Elementary is one.

Knik Charter School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Cottonwood Creek Elementary.

The school occupies a residential site.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cottonwood Creek Elementary has declined 9%, going from 462 students in 2018 to 422 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment ticked up from 2% to 8% over that span.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Cottonwood Creek Elementary community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.