Swift Water Elementary

As a moderately sized elementary campus in Gig Harbor, Washington, Swift Water Elementary instructs 519 students from grades K through 5, operated by Peninsula School District. By comparison, Washington's public schools average about 380 students each, so Swift Water Elementary sits 37% larger than that benchmark.

Across the 17 schools in Peninsula School District (9,015 students total), Swift Water Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Swift Water Elementary shows that White students make up the majority at 73%. Beyond that, the school shows 13% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, 4% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 64% White, putting the school's mix meaningfully more White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Swift Water Elementary has 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.6:1. The state averages about 17.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 13% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Pierce County (around 50%), the school's rate is south of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Swift Water Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 71.2%, the actual is 69.1%, a residual of -2.0 points.

In the area at large, census data for Pierce County shows median household income runs about $99,564, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Swift Water Elementary is one of 287 public schools in Pierce County (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students).

Nearest neighbor: Harbor Ridge Middle School, around 1.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Swift Water Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Swift Water Elementary at 3rd of 8; the average score across the group is 64.3%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Swift Water Elementary community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.