Mountain Meadow Elementary

Mountain Meadow Elementary is a mid-sized primary school in Buckley, Washington, operated by White River School District. The school serves 443 students in grades 1 through 5.

Across the 9 schools in White River School District (4,475 students total), Mountain Meadow Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Mountain Meadow Elementary shows that the largest single group is White, at 72% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school lists 12% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, 2% Black, 2% Asian. That is considerably more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 64%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Mountain Meadow Elementary has 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.7:1. The state averages about 17.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 27% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Pierce County runs at roughly 50%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Mountain Meadow Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Washington public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 62.0%; Mountain Meadow Elementary posts 80.9%, +18.9 points above that line.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Pierce County put the typical household earns roughly $99,564 per year, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Mountain Meadow Elementary is one of 287 public schools in Pierce County (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students).

White River Early Learning Center is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Mountain Meadow Elementary at 1st of 6; the average score across the group is 52.3%.

Geographically, the school is in a countryside area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 18%: 540 students in 2018 compared to 443 in 2025. The White share of enrollment edged down from 78% to 72% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 21.3:1 in 2018 to 17.7:1 today.

On this page, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.