John Shaw Elementary

John Shaw Elementary operates as a high-enrollment K-5 school in Wasilla, Alaska, operated by Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. Current enrollment sits at 507 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, Alaska's public schools average about 277 students each, so John Shaw Elementary sits 83% larger than that benchmark.

John Shaw Elementary is one of 49 schools operated by Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, a district that serves 19,495 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, John Shaw Elementary lists that 78% of the student body identifies as White. Other groups include 9% multiracial, 7% Native American, 6% Hispanic. Compared to Matanuska-Susitna Borough overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, John Shaw Elementary has 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.3:1, putting John Shaw Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Around 41% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Matanuska-Susitna Borough) records that 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 John Shaw Elementary is one.

Teeland Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around John Shaw Elementary.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at John Shaw Elementary has ticked up 13%, going from 447 students in 2018 to 507 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 17.9:1 in 2018 to 16.4:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the John Shaw Elementary 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.