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If you could change one rule at Swift Water Elementary, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
519
Elementary
DISTRICT 405 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PENINSULA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530669003806
Swift Water Elementary
10811 Harbor Hill Drive, Gig Harbor, WA 98332 · (253) 530-4900 · Pierce County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL519 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
13%
70 students
DISTRICT 26% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 75 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 99 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 92 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 76 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 93 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (75) is 19% smaller than its 5th grade class (93).
Student demographics
45%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
70.7%
WA avg 58.4% . +2.6pp since 2021
Math
67.1%
WA avg 51.2% . +1.7pp since 2021
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 67 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 2 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 70.7% | 67.1% |
| 2023-24 | 69.4% | 66.5% |
| 2022-23 | 70.2% | 69.0% |
| 2021-22 | 68.1% | 65.4% |
% 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
69.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.2%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 69% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% 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 Swift Water Elementary
Swift Water Elementary's state test result (69.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift Water Elementary this school | 519 | 13.5% | 69.1% |
| Pioneer Elementary School Gig Harbor | 481 | 13.3% | 67.2% |
| Loyal Heights Elementary School SEATTLE | 527 | 11.4% | 74.6% |
| North Bend Elementary School NORTH BEND | 466 | 13.7% | 73.0% |
| Edwin R Opstad Elementary NORTH BEND | 581 | 13.1% | 77.9% |
| Felida Elementary School VANCOUVER | 561 | 13.2% | N/A |
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 Swift Water Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 69.1% | #145 of 936 | #15 of 142 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 67.1% | #163 of 1,103 ▼ 1 | #18 of 142 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 70.7% | #146 of 1,102 ▲ 15 | #16 of 142 ▲ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.2pp | #422 of 928 | #61 of 141 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 519 | #243 of 1,268 | #42 of 155 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.6:1 | #724 of 1,085 | #86 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.5% | #859 of 1,088 | #131 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 13.5% | #1,092 of 1,169 | #146 of 148 |
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.
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 519 | 31.2 | 16.6:1 | 13% (70) |
| 2023-24 | 514 | 30.7 | 16.8:1 | 17% (86) |
| 2022-23 | 473 | 28.5 | 16.6:1 | 15% (70) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Swift Water Elementary.
About Swift Water Elementary
Swift Water Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Washington, located in Gig Harbor. Enrollment totals 519 students across kindergarten through 5. The school is 37% larger than the average for elementary schools in Washington.
A total of 17 schools make up Peninsula School District, with 9,015 students enrolled.
The student body at Swift Water Elementary is 73% White. It is also 13% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, and 4% Asian. Pierce County's residents are about 64% White, 9 points below the school's share. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 45, compared with 70 nationally.
The school had 31.2 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 16.6:1. The average for elementary schools in Washington is about 17.3:1. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 13%. The 50% average for public schools in Pierce County is 37 points higher.
The model predicts 71.2% for a school in Washington with Swift Water Elementary's free or reduced-price lunch share. Swift Water Elementary posts 69.1%.
The school's county is Pierce County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $99,564 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 31% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Swift Water Elementary shares Pierce County with 286 other public schools.
About 1.1 miles separate Swift Water Elementary from the closest public school, Harbor Ridge Middle School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Swift Water Elementary ranks 3rd of 8 on average proficiency.
Locale data from NCES put Swift Water Elementary in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Swift Water Elementary. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Pierce County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
930,319
Census ACS
Median income
$99,564
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
287
138,462 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Peninsula School District
- Gig Harbor HighHigh · 1,375 students
- Peninsula High SchoolHigh · 1,345 students
- Harbor Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 627 students
- Goodman Middle SchoolMiddle · 519 students
- Kopachuck Middle SchoolMiddle · 516 students
- Purdy Elementary SchoolElementary · 483 students
Other schools in Gig Harbor
- Gig Harbor HighHigh · 1,375 students
- Peninsula High SchoolHigh · 1,345 students
- Harbor Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 627 students
- Goodman Middle SchoolMiddle · 519 students
- Kopachuck Middle SchoolMiddle · 516 students
- Purdy Elementary SchoolElementary · 483 students
Nearby schools
- Harbor Ridge Middle School1.1 mi · 627
- Pioneer Elementary School1.5 mi · 481
- Henderson Bay Alt High School1.6 mi · 139
- Discovery Elementary School1.7 mi · 380
- Gig Harbor High1.8 mi · 1,375
- Purdy Elementary School2.2 mi · 483
Frequently asked questions
About Swift Water ElementaryHow many students attend Swift Water Elementary?
Swift Water Elementary enrolls approximately 519 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Swift Water Elementary serve?
Swift Water Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Swift Water Elementary?
Approximately 16.6:1 students per teacher at Swift Water Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Swift Water Elementary?
Student demographics at Swift Water Elementary are roughly 73% White, 9% Hispanic, 0% Black, 4% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Who oversees Swift Water Elementary?
Swift Water Elementary is overseen by Peninsula School District in Pierce County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.