Lakes Elementary School

Lakes Elementary School operates as a reasonably sized elementary campus in Lacey, Washington, run under North Thurston Public Schools. Current enrollment sits at 495 students spanning grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 380 students per school, that is 30% bigger than typical.

Across the 24 schools in North Thurston Public Schools (15,167 students total), Lakes Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Lakes Elementary School shows that the largest single group is White at 48%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 20% Hispanic, 16% multiracial, 6% Pacific Islander, 4% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 72% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Lakes Elementary School has 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.1:1. The state averages about 17.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 41% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Lakes Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 52.4%, the actual is 57.2%, a residual of +4.8 points.

Around the school, census data for Thurston County shows the typical household earns roughly $96,563 per year, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Thurston County's 86 public schools (combined enrollment of about 44,412 students), Lakes Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Timberline High School, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Lakes Elementary School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Lakes Elementary School at 2nd of 8; the average score across the group is 47.9%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Lakes Elementary School has declined 20%, going from 616 students in 2018 to 495 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 56% to 48% across the same window.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.