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If you had an hour of school board time for Happy Valley Elementary School, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
455
Elementary
DISTRICT 344 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530042000106
Happy Valley Elementary School
1041 24th St, Bellingham, WA 98225 · (360) 676-6420 · Whatcom County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL455 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 44% of Washington public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
45%
207 students
DISTRICT 44% · STATE 51%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 16 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 69 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 65 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 89 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 76 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 67 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (69) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (67).
Student demographics
51%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · 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
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
48.4%
WA avg 58.4% . -32.3pp since 2014
Math
46.5%
WA avg 51.2% . -26.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 46 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 32 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 27 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 48.4% | 46.5% |
| 2023-24 | 51.0% | 52.0% |
| 2022-23 | 51.0% | 45.6% |
| 2021-22 | 50.5% | 45.5% |
| 2018-19 | 60.7% | 52.3% |
| 2017-18 | 62.7% | 59.7% |
| 2016-17 | 65.1% | 66.2% |
| 2015-16 | 74.0% | 63.4% |
| 2014-15 | 80.7% | 73.1% |
% 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
50.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.7%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% 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 Happy Valley Elementary School
Happy Valley Elementary School's state test result (50.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Valley Elementary School this school | 455 | 45.5% | 50.3% |
| Manchester Elementary School PORT ORCHARD | 458 | 47.2% | 51.3% |
| Whittier Elementary Everett | 422 | 46.2% | 73.5% |
| Michael T Simmons Elementary Tumwater | 457 | 43.5% | 58.9% |
| Liberty Ridge Elementary Sumner | 515 | 46.0% | 62.9% |
| Coupeville Elementary School Coupeville | 492 | 43.9% | 57.6% |
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 Happy Valley Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Whatcom County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 50.3% | #425 of 936 | #11 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 46.5% | #502 of 1,103 ▼ 103 | #10 of 30 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 48.4% | #555 of 1,102 ▼ 82 | #13 of 30 ▼ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.5pp | #356 of 928 | #12 of 30 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 455 | #428 of 1,268 | #7 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.6:1 | #927 of 1,085 | #26 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.2% | #739 of 1,088 | #22 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 45.5% | #718 of 1,169 | #25 of 34 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.6% | #201 of 257 | #12 of 13 |
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
455
+67 (+17%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 503
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
was 16.9:1
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 | 455 | 25.8 | 17.6:1 | 45% (207) |
| 2023-24 | 468 | 26.5 | 17.7:1 | 44% (207) |
| 2022-23 | 456 | 26.8 | 17.0:1 | 38% (172) |
| 2020-21 | 388 | 23 | 16.9:1 | 26% (100) |
| 2017-18 | 439 | 24 | 18.3:1 | 27% (120) |
| 2015-16 | 429 | 22 | 19.5:1 | 30% (129) |
| 2010-11 | 337 | 15 | 22.5:1 | 21% (71) |
| 2000-01 | 398 | 19 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 503 | 22 | 22.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Happy Valley Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (439 to 455); teachers up 8% (24 to 25.8).
About Happy Valley Elementary School
Families in Bellingham, Washington, are served by Happy Valley Elementary School, a medium-sized elementary school. Classes run from pre-K through 5, and the school has 455 students.
A total of 25 schools make up Bellingham School District, with 11,337 students enrolled.
White students make up a majority at Happy Valley Elementary School, at 67%. Next come 16% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, and 4% Asian. That compares with about 78% White among all Whatcom County residents. Happy Valley Elementary School's diversity index is 51%, against a US figure of 70%.
Its teaching staff equals 25.8 full-time positions, a ratio of 17.6:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Washington average 17.3:1. Around 45% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. That tracks the 47% average for public schools in Whatcom County.
Measured against Washington public elementary schools, Happy Valley Elementary School receives a C+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Happy Valley Elementary School is within a point of the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 50.3% actual, 49.7% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Washington.
According to the American Community Survey, in Whatcom County, the median household income is $81,784, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 39%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Happy Valley Elementary School is one of 78 public schools in the county.
Sehome High School is the public school closest to Happy Valley Elementary School, about 0.4 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Happy Valley Elementary School's average proficiency of 50.3% compares with 52.3% for its nearest scored neighbors.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Small. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school enrolled 455 students in 2024-25, 67 more than the 388 it had in 2020-21.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Whatcom County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
230,503
Census ACS
Median income
$81,784
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
78
27,779 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bellingham School District
- Squalicum High SchoolHigh · 1,273 students
- Bellingham High SchoolHigh · 1,165 students
- Sehome High SchoolHigh · 1,116 students
- Whatcom Middle SchoolMiddle · 637 students
- Shuksan Middle SchoolMiddle · 606 students
- Fairhaven Middle SchoolMiddle · 588 students
Other schools in Bellingham
- Squalicum High SchoolHigh · 1,273 students
- Bellingham High SchoolHigh · 1,165 students
- Sehome High SchoolHigh · 1,116 students
- Whatcom Middle SchoolMiddle · 637 students
- Shuksan Middle SchoolMiddle · 606 students
- Fairhaven Middle SchoolMiddle · 588 students
Other Happy Valley Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 5 states are named Happy Valley Elementary. Happy Valley Elementary School is the 4th largest of the 7.
- Happy Valley ElementaryJohnson City, TN · 506 students
- Happy Valley Elementary SchoolHappy Valley, OR · 491 students
- Happy Valley ElementaryLafayette, CA · 463 students
- Happy Valley ElementaryAnderson, CA · 242 students
- Happy Valley ElementaryLenoir, NC · 234 students
Nearby schools
- Sehome High School0.4 mi · 1,116
- Bellingham Family Partnership Program0.5 mi · 258
- Lowell Elementary School0.7 mi · 338
- Fairhaven Middle School1.0 mi · 588
- Carl Cozier Elementary School1.9 mi · 325
- Wade King Elementary School1.9 mi · 297
Frequently asked questions
About Happy Valley Elementary SchoolHow large is Happy Valley Elementary School?
Happy Valley Elementary School enrolls approximately 455 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Happy Valley Elementary School serve?
Happy Valley Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Happy Valley Elementary School have?
Happy Valley Elementary School employs 26 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.6:1.
How diverse is Happy Valley Elementary School?
Happy Valley Elementary School reports a student body of 67% White, 16% Hispanic, 1% Black, 4% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Who oversees Happy Valley Elementary School?
Happy Valley Elementary School is overseen by Bellingham School District in Whatcom County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.