Enrollment
179
Elementary
DISTRICT 316 · STATE 277
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 020018000077
Girdwood School
680 Hightower, Girdwood, AK 99587 · (907) 742-5300 · Anchorage Municipality
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL179 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% of Alaska public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Alaska public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.6:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
13%
23 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 4 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 12 | 7% |
| Grade 1 | 16 | 9% |
| Grade 2 | 23 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 24 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 23 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 28 | 16% |
| Grade 6 | 18 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 10 | 6% |
| Grade 8 | 21 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (12) is 43% smaller than its 8th grade class (21).
Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
AK STAR + Alaska Science 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
49.6%
AK avg 36.1% . +1.8pp since 2023
Math
57.6%
AK avg 34.6% . -9.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the AK STAR + Alaska Science, Alaska's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alaska schools, those numbers are about 36 and 35. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 9 points.
AK STAR + Alaska Science results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 49.6% | 57.6% |
| 2023-24 | 47.8% | 67.0% |
% Advanced + Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: AK STAR + Alaska Science. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
57.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.0%
based on AK schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 58% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for Alaska schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Alaska's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Girdwood School
Girdwood School's state test result (57.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Girdwood School this school | 179 | 12.8% | 57.8% |
| Watershed Charter School Fairbanks | 200 | 12.5% | 68.6% |
| Discovery Peak Charter School North Pole | 193 | 19.2% | 31.4% |
| Chugach Optional Elementary Anchorage | 275 | 11.6% | 67.8% |
| Soldotna Montessori Charter School Soldotna | 164 | 24.4% | N/A |
| Point Higgins School Ketchikan | 204 | 22.1% | 43.4% |
Matched among Alaska elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Girdwood School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Alaska | In Anchorage Municipality |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.8% | #16 of 134 | #10 of 55 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.6% | #24 of 150 ▼ 17 | #11 of 62 ▼ 8 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #32 of 150 ▲ 3 | #16 of 62 ▲ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 179 | #137 of 169 | #62 of 62 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 12.8% | #136 of 142 | #53 of 57 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
179
+33 (+23%) vs 2020
-67% since 1990-91, when it was 542
Student : Teacher
12.6:1
was 10.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 179 | 14.2 | 12.6:1 | 13% (23) |
| 2023-24 | 175 | 14.7 | 11.9:1 | 10% (17) |
| 2022-23 | 182 | 14.6 | 12.5:1 | 14% (25) |
| 2020-21 | 146 | 14 | 10.4:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 191 | 14.6 | 13.1:1 | 15% (28) |
| 2015-16 | 197 | 13 | 15.2:1 | 15% (30) |
| 2010-11 | 165 | 11 | 15.0:1 | 21% (34) |
| 2000-01 | 158 | 10 | 15.8:1 | 6% (9) |
| 1990-91 | 542 | 27 | 20.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Girdwood School.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (191 to 179); teachers down 3% (14.6 to 14.2).
About Girdwood School
Girdwood School is a low-enrollment elementary school located in Girdwood, Alaska. Enrollment stands at 179 students, covering pre-K through 8. The school is 35% below the average for elementary schools in Alaska.
Anchorage School District has 92 schools and 40,587 students, and Girdwood School is one of those schools.
A large majority of enrollment at Girdwood School is White, at 82%. Other reported shares: 7% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 3% Native American. Anchorage Municipality's residents are about 57% White, 25 points below the school's share. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Girdwood School scores 32%.
On staff are 14.2 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 12.6:1. Elementary schools in Alaska have an average ratio of 15.3:1. About 13% of students at Girdwood School are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is lower than the 49% average for public schools in Anchorage Municipality.
Girdwood School earns an A- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 80% of Alaska public elementary schools.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Girdwood School is 8.8 points above its prediction. Actual: 57.8%. Predicted: 49.0%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Anchorage Municipality show that median household income comes to about $103,284, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 39% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Anchorage Municipality counts 99 public schools with about 41,241 students.
About 17.0 miles separate Girdwood School from the closest public school, Hope School. Girdwood School is 3rd of 7 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Its NCES locale code is Rural: Distant: the school is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment rose by 23% across 4 years, from 146 in 2020-21 to 179 in 2024-25. The student-to-teacher ratio went up from 10.4:1 to 12.6:1.
Use the discussion section to ask about homework, tutoring, and testing dates at Girdwood School. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Anchorage Municipality at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
288,976
Census ACS
Median income
$103,284
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
99
41,241 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Anchorage School District
- West High SchoolHigh · 1,702 students
- Bettye Davis East Anchorage High SchoolHigh · 1,636 students
- Service High SchoolHigh · 1,518 students
- Bartlett High SchoolCombined · 1,431 students
- Dimond High SchoolHigh · 1,373 students
- South Anchorage High SchoolHigh · 1,239 students
Nearby schools
- Hope School17.0 mi · 21
- Whittier Community School20.1 mi · 49
- Bear Valley Elementary22.3 mi · 316
- O'Malley Elementary23.9 mi · 350
- South Anchorage High School24.5 mi · 1,239
- Huffman Elementary24.8 mi · 268
Frequently asked questions
About Girdwood SchoolHow many students attend Girdwood School?
Girdwood School enrolls approximately 179 students in grades PK-08.
Is Girdwood School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Girdwood School is an elementary school covering grades PK-08.
How many teachers does Girdwood School have?
Girdwood School employs 14 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.6:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Girdwood School?
At Girdwood School, the student body is approximately 82% White, 7% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Girdwood School public or private?
Girdwood School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Anchorage School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.