Tacoma School of the Arts

Tacoma School of the Arts is a mid-tier senior high in Tacoma, Washington, part of Tacoma School District. The school enrolls 658 students in grades 9 through 12.

Tacoma School District runs 66 schools in total, collectively educating 28,900 students. Tacoma School of the Arts is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Tacoma School of the Arts lists that 44% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder comes out to 20% Hispanic, 17% multiracial, 10% Black, 3% Asian. That is visibly less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 64%.

Looking at school resources, The school lists 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 19.6:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 21.6:1 average. Around 46% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

With demographic context factored in, Tacoma School of the Arts is in the bottom 10% of Washington public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 49.5%; Tacoma School of the Arts posts 37.0%, -12.5 points below that line.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Pierce County) reports that median household earnings sit near $99,564, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Tacoma School of the Arts is one of 287 public schools in Pierce County (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students).

Nearest neighbor: Comm Based Trans Program, around 0.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Tacoma School of the Arts at 3rd of 5; the average score across the group is 32.0%.

Tacoma School of the Arts operates from a downtown location.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Tacoma School of the Arts has rose 6%, going from 618 students in 2018 to 658 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 21% to 10% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 17.0:1 in 2018 to 19.6:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.