McKenny Elementary

McKenny Elementary, a modestly sized elementary-level community in OLYMPIA, Washington, overseen by Olympia School District, educates 322 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

McKenny Elementary is one of 20 schools operated by Olympia School District, a district that instructs 9,386 students overall.

On demographics, McKenny Elementary records that 49% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest breaks down as 19% Hispanic, 13% multiracial, 10% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 72% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.9:1. The state averages about 17.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 30% of students at McKenny Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Thurston County (around 43%), the school's rate is south of typical.

After controlling for student poverty, McKenny Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 60.2%, the actual is 61.9%, a residual of +1.7 points.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Thurston County shows median household earnings sit near $96,563, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Thurston County runs 86 public schools (combined enrollment of about 44,412 students), of which McKenny Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Washington Middle School, roughly 0.6 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around McKenny Elementary. On composite proficiency, McKenny Elementary comes 3rd of 7 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 55.7%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 14%: 376 students in 2018 compared to 322 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share decreased from 63% to 49%.

In the discussion threads here, members of the McKenny Elementary community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.