Pioneer Middle

Located at 1750 Bob's Hollow Lane, in DuPont, Washington, Pioneer Middle is a mid-sized middle-grades school that teaches 758 students (grades 6 through 8), part of Steilacoom Hist. School District. By comparison, Washington's public schools average about 577 students each, so Pioneer Middle sits 31% bigger than that benchmark.

Steilacoom Hist. School District runs 7 schools in total, collectively educating 3,043 students. Pioneer Middle is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Pioneer Middle logs that 47% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder looks like 22% Hispanic, 16% multiracial, 7% Asian, 6% Black. By comparison, Pierce County as a whole is about 64% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Pioneer Middle has 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 20.5:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 18.9:1 average. An estimated 31% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Pierce County (around 50%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

With demographic context factored in, Pioneer Middle sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 59.7%; this one delivers 49.9%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Pierce County) reports that median household income runs about $99,564, about 31% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, Pierce County runs 287 public schools (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students), of which Pioneer Middle is one.

The closest other public school is Chloe Clark Elementary, roughly 0.6 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Pioneer Middle. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Pioneer Middle at 6th of 8; the average score across the group is 55.1%.

The campus sits in a residential setting.

Five-year trend. Pioneer Middle's enrollment has stayed largely flat since 2018, when it stood at 760 (now 758). The Hispanic share of enrollment ticked up from 16% to 22% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 19.3:1 in 2018 to 20.5:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.