South Bay Elementary

South Bay Elementary operates as a high-enrollment elementary-level community in Lacey, Washington, one of the schools within North Thurston Public Schools. Current enrollment sits at 595 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 57% bigger than the typical public school in Washington, which averages around 380 students.

South Bay Elementary is one of 24 schools operated by North Thurston Public Schools, a district that caters to 15,167 students overall.

On the student-mix side, South Bay Elementary records that 53% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder consists of 19% Hispanic, 14% multiracial, 7% Asian, 3% Black. The wider county runs roughly 72% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, South Bay Elementary has 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.0:1. The state averages about 17.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 42% of students at South Bay Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), South Bay Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 51.8%, the actual is 53.6%, a residual of +1.8 points.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Thurston County) shows that median household income runs about $96,563, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. South Bay Elementary is one of 86 public schools in Thurston County (combined enrollment of about 44,412 students).

The closest other public school is Pleasant Glade Elementary, roughly 1.6 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts South Bay Elementary at 1st of 5; the average score across the group is 45.4%.

The campus sits in a countryside setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 30%: 850 students in 2018 compared to 595 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 63% to 53% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 20.7:1 in 2018 to 17.0:1 today.

On this page, the feed for South Bay Elementary typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.