Enrollment
134
Elementary
DISTRICT 131 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CUSICK SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530192000296
Bess Herian Elementary
305 MONUMENTAL WAY, CUSICK, WA 99119 · (509) 445-0361 · Pend Oreille County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL134 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 74% of Washington public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Washington public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
9 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.1:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
72%
96 students
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 51%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 24 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 18 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 20 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 21 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 20 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 31 | 23% |
This year's kindergarten class (24) is 23% smaller than its 5th grade class (31).
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 68% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Bess Herian Elementary→Cusick Jr Sr High School
Based on grade levels within Cusick School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
53.7%
WA avg 58.4% . +37.9pp since 2014
Math
44.8%
WA avg 51.2% . +34.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 45 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are up about 38 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 34 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 53.7% | 44.8% |
| 2023-24 | 50.7% | 27.5% |
| 2022-23 | 41.8% | 29.1% |
| 2021-22 | 31.7% | 33.3% |
| 2018-19 | 41.7% | 35.4% |
| 2017-18 | 35.1% | 28.1% |
| 2016-17 | 34.7% | 33.3% |
| 2015-16 | 36.4% | 18.2% |
| 2014-15 | 15.8% | 10.5% |
% Met or Exceeded Standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Smarter Balanced + WCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of WA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
45.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.1%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+13.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 32% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 13 points, placing it in Washington's top 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 Bess Herian Elementary
Bess Herian Elementary's state test result (45.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bess Herian Elementary this school | 134 | 71.6% | 45.3% |
| Oakville Elementary OAKVILLE | 157 | 66.9% | 29.7% |
| Pacific Beach Elementary School Pacific Beach | 91 | 76.9% | 21.3% |
| La Conner Elementary LA CONNER | 185 | 59.5% | 39.3% |
| Mountain View Elementary Ferndale | 101 | 61.4% | N/A |
| Dallesport Elementary Dallesport | 91 | 64.8% | 31.9% |
Matched among Washington 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 Bess Herian Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.3% | #514 of 936 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 44.8% | #540 of 1,103 ▲ 355 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.7% | #431 of 1,102 ▲ 48 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +16.7pp | #15 of 928 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 134 | #1,144 of 1,268 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 71.6% | #228 of 1,169 |
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
134
+16 (+14%) vs 2020
+2% since 1990-91, when it was 131
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
was 10.7:1
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 | 134 | 9.4 | 14.2:1 | 72% (96) |
| 2023-24 | 130 | 10.5 | 12.4:1 | 79% (103) |
| 2022-23 | 98 | 9.6 | 10.2:1 | 74% (73) |
| 2020-21 | 118 | 11 | 10.7:1 | 68% (80) |
| 2017-18 | 93 | 7 | 13.3:1 | 52% (48) |
| 2015-16 | 94 | 7 | 13.4:1 | 71% (67) |
| 2010-11 | 143 | 8 | 17.9:1 | 62% (89) |
| 2000-01 | 170 | 9 | 18.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 131 | 7 | 18.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bess Herian Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 44% (93 to 134); teachers up 34% (7 to 9.4).
About Bess Herian Elementary
The public elementary school Bess Herian Elementary is located in CUSICK, Washington. It covers kindergarten through 5, with a total enrollment of 134 students. Enrollment is 65% lower than the average for elementary schools in Washington, which is about 380.
Cusick School District is the district for Bess Herian Elementary. It has 3 schools and 392 students.
White students form the largest group at Bess Herian Elementary, 42% of enrollment. Other groups include 26% multiracial, 17% Native American, and 13% Hispanic. By comparison, Pend Oreille County residents are about 86% White. The chance that two students picked at random at Bess Herian Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 71%.
The school has about 14.2 students per teacher and 9.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among elementary schools in Washington is 17.3:1, higher than at this school. About 72% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch.
The allk12 Grade for Bess Herian Elementary is B+. Compared with Washington public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 74% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Bess Herian Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Washington schools. It scores 45.3%; the prediction is 32.1%.
Pend Oreille County has about 14,050 residents, and median household income is about $67,436, about 21% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Federal data list 12 public schools in Pend Oreille County, with a combined enrollment of about 1,825.
Cusick Jr Sr High School is the public school closest to Bess Herian Elementary, less than a tenth of a mile away. Bess Herian Elementary has 2 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools average 36.5% on proficiency, and Bess Herian Elementary is above that at 45.3%.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Remote.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 134 was 14% higher than in 2020-21, when it was 118. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (14.2:1) than in 2020-21 (10.7:1).
If you have questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Bess Herian Elementary, you can post them here. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Pend Oreille County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
14,050
Census ACS
Median income
$67,436
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
12
1,825 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cusick School District
- Cusick Jr Sr High SchoolHigh · 147 students
- Home PrideCombined · 111 students
- Kalispel Language Immersion SchoolElementary
Other schools in CUSICK
- Cusick Jr Sr High SchoolHigh · 147 students
- Home PrideCombined · 111 students
- Kalispel Language Immersion SchoolElementary
Nearby schools
- Cusick Jr Sr High School0.0 mi · 147
- Home Pride0.0 mi · 111
- Newport High School15.5 mi · 281
- Newport Home Link15.6 mi · 170
- Sadie Halstead Middle School15.7 mi · 272
- Stratton Elementary15.7 mi · 399
Frequently asked questions
About Bess Herian ElementaryHow large is Bess Herian Elementary?
Bess Herian Elementary enrolls approximately 134 students in grades KG-05.
Is Bess Herian Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Bess Herian Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Bess Herian Elementary?
Approximately 14.2:1 students per teacher at Bess Herian Elementary.
How diverse is Bess Herian Elementary?
Bess Herian Elementary reports a student body of 42% White, 13% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 26% Two or more.
Who oversees Bess Herian Elementary?
Bess Herian Elementary is overseen by Cusick School District in Pend Oreille County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.