Central Elementary

Central Elementary is a modestly sized primary school in Ferndale, Washington, one of the schools within Ferndale School District. The school educates 315 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Ferndale School District comprises 13 schools with combined enrollment of 4,746 students; Central Elementary is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Central Elementary shows that 58% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder looks like 24% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 6% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 78% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.4:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. Around 65% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is north of Whatcom County's rate of about 47%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Central Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 36.5%; this one delivers 41.8%.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Whatcom County put the typical household earns roughly $81,784 per year, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. In all, Whatcom County runs 78 public schools (combined enrollment of about 27,779 students), of which Central Elementary is one.

Ferndale Virtual Academy is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Central Elementary. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Central Elementary ranks 4th on composite proficiency, above the local average of 38.2%.

The campus sits in a suburban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Central Elementary has shrank 8%, going from 343 students in 2018 to 315 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 20.1:1 in 2018 to 17.4:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.