Purdy Elementary School

Set in Gig Harbor, Washington, Purdy Elementary School is a mid-tier elementary school, part of Peninsula School District. It teaches 483 students across grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 27% above the state mean of about 380.

Peninsula School District comprises 17 schools with combined enrollment of 9,015 students; Purdy Elementary School is among them.

On demographics, Purdy Elementary School lists that 81% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Beyond that, the school reports 9% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. By comparison, Pierce County as a whole is about 64% White, so the school skews noticeably more White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, The school lists 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.9:1. The state averages around 17.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 21% of students at Purdy Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Pierce County (around 50%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Purdy Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 66.3%; this one delivers 75.6%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Pierce County indicate the typical household earns roughly $99,564 per year, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Pierce County runs 287 public schools (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students), of which Purdy Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is Peninsula High School, roughly 0.2 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Purdy Elementary School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Purdy Elementary School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 61.8%.

Purdy Elementary School operates from a suburban location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 19%: 599 students in 2018 compared to 483 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 76% to 81% across the same window.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.