Central Avenue Elementary

Central Avenue Elementary is a mid-sized elementary-level community in Tacoma, Washington, operated by Franklin Pierce School District. The school hosts 355 students in grades K through 5.

Within Franklin Pierce School District, which oversees 14 schools and 7,187 students, Central Avenue Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Central Avenue Elementary records that the largest single group is White at 35%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest looks like 30% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, 11% Black, 11% Asian. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 64%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.7:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 17.3:1 average. An estimated 59% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Pierce County (around 50%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Central Avenue Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 40.5%, the actual is 36.2%, a residual of -4.3 points.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Pierce County indicate median household income runs about $99,564, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Central Avenue Elementary is one of 287 public schools in Pierce County (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students).

Midland Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.4 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Central Avenue Elementary ranks 6th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 42.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Central Avenue Elementary has contracted 24%, going from 469 students in 2018 to 355 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 50% to 35%. Class-load math has pulled in: from 17.1:1 in 2018 to 13.7:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the Central Avenue Elementary community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.