Sumas Elementary

Sumas Elementary is a primary school of cozy scale in Sumas, Washington, overseen by Nooksack Valley School District, enrolling 295 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 380 students per school, that is 22% leaner than typical.

Across the 7 schools in Nooksack Valley School District (2,033 students total), Sumas Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Sumas Elementary reports that 61% of the student body identifies as White; the rest consists of 32% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 78% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.2:1. The state averages around 17.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 62% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is higher than Whatcom County's rate of about 47%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Sumas Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 38.4%, the actual is 42.6%, a residual of +4.2 points.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Whatcom County indicate median household income runs about $81,784, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Whatcom County's 78 public schools (combined enrollment of about 27,779 students), Sumas Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Nooksack Valley High School, around 3.0 miles off. 3 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Sumas Elementary at 4th of 7; the average score across the group is 43.7%.

The school occupies an outlying site.

Over the past 7-year window. Sumas Elementary's enrollment has edged up 11% since 2018, when it stood at 266 (now 295). Over the same period, the White share climbed from 57% to 61%. Class-load math has loosened: from 13.5:1 in 2018 to 15.2:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.