Enrollment
222
Middle
DISTRICT 319 · STATE 577
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PORT TOWNSEND SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530684001305
Blue Heron Middle School
3939 San Juan Ave, Port Townsend, WA 98368 · (360) 680-5661 · Jefferson County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL222 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% of Washington public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-Three-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.5:1 · STATE 18.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
54%
119 students
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 51%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 80 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 75 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 67 | 30% |
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 40% · 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
Blue Heron Middle School→Port Townsend High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Port Townsend School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
42.8%
WA avg 58.4% . -18.9pp since 2014
Math
30.2%
WA avg 51.2% . -17.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are down about 19 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 17 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.8% | 30.2% |
| 2023-24 | 51.6% | 30.0% |
| 2022-23 | 52.0% | 30.6% |
| 2021-22 | 45.8% | 31.4% |
| 2018-19 | 66.1% | 45.5% |
| 2017-18 | 58.6% | 46.0% |
| 2016-17 | 62.9% | 40.6% |
| 2015-16 | 65.2% | 44.8% |
| 2014-15 | 61.7% | 47.3% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
42.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.2%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% typical for Washington 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 Washington'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 Blue Heron Middle School
Blue Heron Middle School's state test result (42.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Heron Middle School this school | 222 | 53.6% | 42.4% |
| Wind River Middle School Carson | 186 | 53.2% | 42.2% |
| Onalaska Middle School Onalaska | 195 | 52.8% | 45.0% |
| Tenino Middle School Tenino | 291 | 52.6% | 36.2% |
| Mount Baker Junior High DEMING | 244 | 60.2% | 26.5% |
| Rainier Middle School Rainier | 241 | 46.9% | 43.1% |
Matched among Washington middle 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 Blue Heron Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Washington |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.4% | #137 of 294 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 30.2% | #210 of 357 ▼ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.8% | #215 of 357 ▼ 76 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.1pp | #50 of 290 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 222 | #333 of 377 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #22 of 340 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.2% | #290 of 340 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.6% | #161 of 359 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -46.9% | #3 of 192 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
222
-26 (-10%) vs 2020
-44% since 2000-01, when it was 397
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 15.5:1
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 | 222 | 14.2 | 15.7:1 | 54% (119) |
| 2023-24 | 222 | 17.8 | 12.5:1 | 53% (117) |
| 2022-23 | 265 | 18.3 | 14.5:1 | 48% (128) |
| 2020-21 | 248 | 16 | 15.5:1 | 49% (122) |
| 2017-18 | 418 | 24 | 17.4:1 | 51% (214) |
| 2015-16 | 376 | 25 | 15.0:1 | 55% (207) |
| 2010-11 | 469 | 24 | 19.5:1 | 48% (227) |
| 2000-01 | 397 | 18 | 22.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Blue Heron Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 47% (418 to 222); teachers down 41% (24 to 14.2).
About Blue Heron Middle School
Located in Port Townsend, Washington, Blue Heron Middle School is a small middle school. It serves 222 students in grades 6 through 8. For comparison, middle schools in Washington average about 577 students.
Port Townsend School District is the district for Blue Heron Middle School. It has 4 schools and 1,277 students.
Roughly 76% of students at Blue Heron Middle School are White. Other groups make up 11% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 4% Asian, and 2% Black. County-wide, 86% of Jefferson County residents are White. The school's diversity index is 40%, meaning two students picked at random have a 40% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school employs the equivalent of 14.2 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 15.7:1. That is 3.2 students per teacher below the 18.9:1 average for middle schools in Washington. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Blue Heron Middle School is 54%.
allk12 grades Blue Heron Middle School a B-. The grade compares the school only with Washington public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
Blue Heron Middle School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 42.4% is 1.9 points below the 44.2% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
According to the American Community Survey, in Jefferson County, the median household income is $74,048, roughly 44% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. There are 13 public schools in Jefferson County, enrolling about 2,670 students in all.
The closest other public school is OCEAN, less than a tenth of a mile away. Blue Heron Middle School has 3 other public schools within five miles. Local comparison: Blue Heron Middle School ranks 6th of 6 nearby schools, at 42.4% versus a 54.8% average.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Town: Distant: in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Over 4 years, Blue Heron Middle School's enrollment dropped 10%, to 222.
Community posts for Blue Heron Middle School can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Jefferson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
33,577
Census ACS
Median income
$74,048
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
13
2,670 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Port Townsend School District
- Salish Coast ElementaryElementary · 528 students
- Port Townsend High SchoolHigh · 383 students
- OCEANCombined · 144 students
Other schools in Port Townsend
- Salish Coast ElementaryElementary · 528 students
- Port Townsend High SchoolHigh · 383 students
- OCEANCombined · 144 students
Nearby schools
- OCEAN0.0 mi · 144
- Port Townsend High School0.9 mi · 383
- Salish Coast Elementary1.3 mi · 528
- Chimacum Creek Primary School6.6 mi · 147
- Coupeville Open Academy6.9 mi · 46
- Coupeville Middle School6.9 mi · 158
Frequently asked questions
About Blue Heron Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Blue Heron Middle School?
Blue Heron Middle School enrolls approximately 222 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Blue Heron Middle School serve?
Blue Heron Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Blue Heron Middle School?
Approximately 15.7:1 students per teacher at Blue Heron Middle School.
How diverse is Blue Heron Middle School?
Blue Heron Middle School reports a student body of 76% White, 11% Hispanic, 2% Black, 4% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Blue Heron Middle School?
Blue Heron Middle School is overseen by Port Townsend School District in Jefferson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.