Kapowsin Elementary

Kapowsin Elementary, a tight-knit elementary-level community in Graham, Washington, overseen by Bethel School District, enrolls 321 students, covering grades K through 5.

Kapowsin Elementary is one of 39 schools operated by Bethel School District, a district that hosts 21,732 students overall.

Demographically, Kapowsin Elementary reports that 64% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school logs 19% Hispanic, 13% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Pierce County as a whole.

On the income-and-resources front, Kapowsin Elementary shows 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.9:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 17.3:1 average. About 48% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Kapowsin Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 48.2%, the actual is 43.8%, a residual of -4.4 points.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Pierce County put median household income runs about $99,564, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Kapowsin Elementary is one of 287 public schools in Pierce County (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students).

The closest other public school is Rocky Ridge Elementary, roughly 2.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Kapowsin Elementary comes 7th of 9 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 47.8%.

Kapowsin Elementary operates from a rural location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 21%: 408 students in 2018 compared to 321 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 78% to 64% across the same window.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.