Fords Prairie Elementary

Located at 1620 Harrison Avenue, in Centralia, Washington, Fords Prairie Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus that educates 443 students (grades K through 6), operated by Centralia School District.

Centralia School District runs 9 schools in total, collectively educating 3,313 students. Fords Prairie Elementary is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Fords Prairie Elementary lists that the most-represented group is White (54%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest looks like 40% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 82% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Fords Prairie Elementary records 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.3:1, putting Fords Prairie Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 75% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Lewis County runs at roughly 57%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Fords Prairie Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 29.6%, the actual is 35.3%, a residual of +5.7 points.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Lewis County put median household income runs about $74,796, 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Fords Prairie Elementary is one of 45 public schools in Lewis County (combined enrollment of about 12,548 students).

Nearest neighbor: Centralia School District SpEd Pre-school, around 0.6 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Fords Prairie Elementary at 3rd of 7; the average score across the group is 32.5%.

The campus sits in a town-center setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Fords Prairie Elementary has grew 19%, going from 373 students in 2018 to 443 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share decreased from 61% to 54%.

On allk12, posts here usually surface around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.