Industrial Design Engineering and Arts

Industrial Design Engineering and Arts is a small high school in Tacoma, Washington, run under Tacoma School District. The school hosts 392 students in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 32% smaller than the state mean of about 573.

Within Tacoma School District, which oversees 66 schools and 28,900 students, Industrial Design Engineering and Arts is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Industrial Design Engineering and Arts shows that the most-represented group is White (47%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest consists of 21% Hispanic, 18% multiracial, 8% Black, 3% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 64% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

On the resource side, On paper, Industrial Design Engineering and Arts has 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.6:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 21.6:1 average. Around 47% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Industrial Design Engineering and Arts tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 48.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 52.4%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Pierce County indicate median household earnings sit near $99,564, about 31% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Industrial Design Engineering and Arts is one of 287 public schools in Pierce County (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students).

Fawcett Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Industrial Design Engineering and Arts. On composite proficiency, Industrial Design Engineering and Arts comes 1st of 9 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 34.2%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Industrial Design Engineering and Arts's enrollment has climbed 143% since 2018, when it stood at 161 (now 392). Over the same period, the White share declined from 61% to 47%. Class-load math has widened: from 12.8:1 in 2018 to 17.6:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.