Enrollment
357
Elementary
DISTRICT 344 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530042000115
Silver Beach Elementary School
4101 Academy St, Bellingham, WA 98226 · (360) 676-6443 · Whatcom County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL357 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 75% of Washington public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- CThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Washington public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
24%
85 students
DISTRICT 44% · STATE 51%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 47 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 56 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 50 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 43 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 51 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 65 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 45 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (56) is 24% larger than its 5th grade class (45).
Student demographics
41%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 68% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
69.8%
WA avg 58.4% . -1.0pp since 2014
Math
64.2%
WA avg 51.2% . -8.8pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 70 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 64 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2014, while math scores are down about 9 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 69.8% | 64.2% |
| 2023-24 | 72.3% | 62.0% |
| 2022-23 | 72.7% | 67.9% |
| 2021-22 | 71.8% | 66.7% |
| 2018-19 | 67.7% | 57.9% |
| 2017-18 | 65.2% | 54.4% |
| 2016-17 | 70.2% | 70.2% |
| 2015-16 | 74.9% | 73.4% |
| 2014-15 | 70.7% | 73.0% |
% Met or Exceeded Standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Smarter Balanced + WCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
68.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.2%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 69% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 64% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Washington's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Silver Beach Elementary School
Silver Beach Elementary School's state test result (68.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Beach Elementary School this school | 357 | 23.8% | 68.9% |
| Discovery Elementary School Gig Harbor | 380 | 25.3% | 73.3% |
| Maltby Elementary Snohomish | 334 | 25.7% | 60.8% |
| Wade King Elementary School Bellingham | 297 | 21.9% | 53.6% |
| Harbor Heights Elementary School Gig Harbor | 397 | 20.9% | 74.3% |
| Washington Elementary School Tacoma | 383 | 20.9% | 70.5% |
Matched among Washington elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Silver Beach Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Whatcom County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.9% | #152 of 936 | #1 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.2% | #204 of 1,103 ▲ 26 | #1 of 30 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.8% | #158 of 1,102 ▼ 24 | #1 of 30 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.2pp | #263 of 928 | #7 of 30 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 357 | #781 of 1,268 | #16 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.3:1 | #1,065 of 1,085 | #30 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.8% | #904 of 1,088 | #27 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 23.8% | #998 of 1,169 | #33 of 34 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -24.8% | #192 of 778 | #4 of 20 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
357
-34 (-9%) vs 2020
-11% since 1990-91, when it was 399
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
was 17.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 357 | 17.6 | 20.3:1 | 24% (85) |
| 2023-24 | 342 | 17.5 | 19.6:1 | 20% (67) |
| 2022-23 | 349 | 19.4 | 18.0:1 | 19% (68) |
| 2020-21 | 391 | 23 | 17.0:1 | 15% (60) |
| 2017-18 | 475 | 24.4 | 19.5:1 | 17% (80) |
| 2015-16 | 455 | 21 | 21.7:1 | 19% (87) |
| 2010-11 | 428 | 18 | 23.8:1 | 18% (79) |
| 2000-01 | 602 | 27 | 22.3:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 399 | 16 | 24.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Silver Beach Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (475 to 357); teachers down 28% (24.4 to 17.6).
About Silver Beach Elementary School
A medium-sized elementary school in Bellingham, Washington, Silver Beach Elementary School is part of Bellingham School District. The latest federal count shows 357 students in pre-K through 5.
Silver Beach Elementary School is one school in a 25-school district, Bellingham School District, which enrolls 11,337 students.
A majority of students at Silver Beach Elementary School, 75%, are White. The next largest groups are 12% Hispanic and 9% multiracial. County-wide, about 78% of residents are White. By the diversity index, Silver Beach Elementary School comes in at 41%.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 20.3:1, with 17.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. Among elementary schools in Washington, the typical ratio is 17.3:1. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Silver Beach Elementary School is 24%. For comparison, public schools in Whatcom County average 47%.
allk12 grades Silver Beach Elementary School an A-. The grade compares the school only with Washington public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Silver Beach Elementary School falls in the middle 80% of Washington schools: 68.9% actual against 64.2% predicted.
County data help place the school in context: in Whatcom County, median household income is about $81,784, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 39% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. The public schools of Whatcom County number 78 and enroll about 27,779.
The next-closest public school is Squalicum High School, about 1.1 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Local comparison: Silver Beach Elementary School ranks 1st of 7 nearby schools, at 68.9% versus a 48.6% average.
Federal data place Silver Beach Elementary School in the City: Small locale, which means it is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Silver Beach Elementary School went from 391 students to 357. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 17.0:1 in 2020-21 to 20.3:1 in 2024-25.
The discussion area below is open to posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Whatcom County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
230,503
Census ACS
Median income
$81,784
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
78
27,779 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bellingham School District
- Squalicum High SchoolHigh · 1,273 students
- Bellingham High SchoolHigh · 1,165 students
- Sehome High SchoolHigh · 1,116 students
- Whatcom Middle SchoolMiddle · 637 students
- Shuksan Middle SchoolMiddle · 606 students
- Fairhaven Middle SchoolMiddle · 588 students
Other schools in Bellingham
- Squalicum High SchoolHigh · 1,273 students
- Bellingham High SchoolHigh · 1,165 students
- Sehome High SchoolHigh · 1,116 students
- Whatcom Middle SchoolMiddle · 637 students
- Shuksan Middle SchoolMiddle · 606 students
- Fairhaven Middle SchoolMiddle · 588 students
Nearby schools
- Squalicum High School1.1 mi · 1,273
- Roosevelt Elementary School1.2 mi · 348
- Northern Heights Elementary Schl1.3 mi · 396
- Bellingham Re-Engagement Program1.5 mi · 110
- Geneva Elementary School1.5 mi · 412
- Visions (Seamar Youth Center)1.6 mi · 11
Frequently asked questions
About Silver Beach Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Silver Beach Elementary School?
Silver Beach Elementary School enrolls approximately 357 students in grades PK-05.
Is Silver Beach Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Silver Beach Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Silver Beach Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Silver Beach Elementary School is approximately 20.3:1 (18 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Silver Beach Elementary School?
At Silver Beach Elementary School, the student body is approximately 75% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Is Silver Beach Elementary School public or private?
Silver Beach Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Bellingham School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.