1
Parents: what's one thing you'd want the South Bay Elementary administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
595
Elementary
DISTRICT 507 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTH THURSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 530585000871
South Bay Elementary
3845 Sleater Kinney Rd NE, Lacey, WA 98506 · (360) 412-4640 · Thurston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL595 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 49% of Washington public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats 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
17.0:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
252 students
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 51%
Community
1
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 | 12 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 86 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 97 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 87 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 97 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 115 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 101 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (86) is 15% smaller than its 5th grade class (101).
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · 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
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
55.6%
WA avg 58.4% . -7.0pp since 2014
Math
51.3%
WA avg 51.2% . -9.5pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 56 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are down about 7 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 10 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.6% | 51.3% |
| 2023-24 | 49.5% | 51.9% |
| 2022-23 | 47.7% | 46.2% |
| 2021-22 | 60.3% | 50.2% |
| 2018-19 | 64.3% | 66.1% |
| 2017-18 | 63.5% | 66.2% |
| 2016-17 | 64.8% | 70.6% |
| 2015-16 | 62.6% | 67.7% |
| 2014-15 | 62.6% | 60.8% |
% 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
53.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.8%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% 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 South Bay Elementary
South Bay Elementary's state test result (53.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Bay Elementary this school | 595 | 42.4% | 53.6% |
| Sidney Glen Elementary School PORT ORCHARD | 502 | 42.2% | 46.9% |
| Sunnyslope Elementary School PORT ORCHARD | 503 | 41.7% | 54.7% |
| Lakes Elementary School Lacey | 495 | 41.4% | 57.2% |
| Southworth Elementary Yelm | 671 | 46.5% | 44.8% |
| Sultan Elementary School Sultan | 676 | 40.5% | 57.3% |
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 South Bay Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Thurston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 53.6% | #375 of 936 | #15 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.3% | #418 of 1,103 ▼ 18 | #15 of 39 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.6% | #397 of 1,102 ▲ 117 | #15 of 39 ▲ 6 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -1.8pp | #291 of 928 | #14 of 39 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 595 | #105 of 1,268 | #5 of 43 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #820 of 1,085 | #27 of 40 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.0% | #413 of 1,088 | #17 of 39 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.4% | #767 of 1,169 | #27 of 43 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -30.0% | #116 of 778 | #2 of 27 |
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
595
+18 (+3%) vs 2020
-8% since 1990-91, when it was 649
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 18.0:1
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 | 595 | 35 | 17.0:1 | 42% (252) |
| 2023-24 | 587 | 34.8 | 16.9:1 | 39% (231) |
| 2022-23 | 588 | 33.5 | 17.5:1 | 40% (235) |
| 2020-21 | 577 | 32 | 18.0:1 | 30% (172) |
| 2017-18 | 850 | 41.1 | 20.7:1 | 32% (274) |
| 2015-16 | 656 | 32 | 20.5:1 | 34% (226) |
| 2010-11 | 727 | 32 | 22.7:1 | 18% (133) |
| 2000-01 | 556 | 27 | 20.6:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 649 | 34 | 19.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Bay Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 30% (850 to 595); teachers down 15% (41.1 to 35).
About South Bay Elementary
South Bay Elementary is a high-enrollment elementary school that serves part of Lacey, Washington. Enrolled students number 595 students, in pre-K through 5. Statewide, elementary schools in Washington average about 380 students each.
Enrollment across the 24 schools in North Thurston Public Schools totals 15,167 students.
South Bay Elementary is 53% White by enrollment. Other reported shares: 19% Hispanic, 14% multiracial, 7% Asian, and 3% Black. That compares with about 72% White among all Thurston County residents. The school's diversity index is 65%, meaning two students picked at random have a 65% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The teaching staff at South Bay Elementary is 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 17.0:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Washington average 17.3:1. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 42%. That tracks the 43% average for public schools in Thurston County.
allk12 grades South Bay Elementary a B-. The grade compares the school only with Washington public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
South Bay Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 53.6%, compared with a predicted 51.8%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Washington schools on BeatsExpectations.
Among Thurston County residents, the median household income is $96,563, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. South Bay Elementary is one of 86 public schools in the county.
Pleasant Glade Elementary is the closest public school, about 1.6 miles away in a straight line. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. South Bay Elementary comes in 1st of 5 nearby schools on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, South Bay Elementary is coded Rural: Fringe, for schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment at South Bay Elementary climbed 3% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 577 to 595 students. Its ratio of students to teachers was 18.0:1 in 2020-21, and 17.0:1 in 2024-25.
Discussions about South Bay Elementary may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Thurston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
299,067
Census ACS
Median income
$96,563
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
86
44,412 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in North Thurston Public Schools
- River Ridge High SchoolHigh · 1,547 students
- Timberline High SchoolHigh · 1,401 students
- North Thurston High SchoolHigh · 1,378 students
- Nisqually Middle SchoolMiddle · 789 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 776 students
- Meadows ElementaryElementary · 765 students
Other schools in Lacey
- River Ridge High SchoolHigh · 1,547 students
- Timberline High SchoolHigh · 1,401 students
- North Thurston High SchoolHigh · 1,378 students
- Nisqually Middle SchoolMiddle · 789 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 776 students
- Meadows ElementaryElementary · 765 students
Other South Bay Elementary schools
One other US public school is named South Bay Elementary. South Bay Elementary is the largest of the 2.
- South Bay ElementaryEureka, CA · 141 students
Nearby schools
- Pleasant Glade Elementary1.6 mi · 559
- Ignite Family Academy2.2 mi · 100
- Chinook Middle School2.2 mi · 746
- North Thurston High School2.3 mi · 1,378
- Envision Career Academy2.3 mi · 139
- Summit VIrtual Academy2.4 mi · 355
Frequently asked questions
About South Bay ElementaryHow large is South Bay Elementary?
South Bay Elementary enrolls approximately 595 students in grades PK-05.
Is South Bay Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
South Bay Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South Bay Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at South Bay Elementary is approximately 17.0:1 (35 FTE teachers).
How diverse is South Bay Elementary?
South Bay Elementary reports a student body of 53% White, 19% Hispanic, 3% Black, 7% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Who oversees South Bay Elementary?
South Bay Elementary is overseen by North Thurston Public Schools in Thurston County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.