Enrollment
165
High
DISTRICT 831 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SEATTLE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1·NCES 530771002842
The Center School
305 HARRISON ST, SEATTLE, WA 98109 · (206) 252-9850 · King County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL165 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
12 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.6:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
15%
24 students
DISTRICT 36% · STATE 51%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 43 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 37 | 22% |
| Grade 11 | 50 | 30% |
| Grade 12 | 35 | 21% |
Student demographics
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
63.2%
WA avg 58.4% . -24.3pp since 2015
Math
18.4%
WA avg 51.2%
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are down about 24 points since 2015.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 63.2% | 18.4% |
| 2023-24 | 70.2% | 43.1% |
| 2022-23 | 75.0% | 44.4% |
| 2021-22 | 67.2% | 25.9% |
| 2018-19 | 83.3% | 36.7% |
| 2017-18 | 86.2% | 48.3% |
| 2016-17 | N/A | 34.7% |
| 2015-16 | 87.5% | N/A |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of WA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
46.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.5%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-24.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 70% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 The Center School
The Center School's state test result (46.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Center School this school | 165 | 14.5% | 46.5% |
| Discovery High School Camas | 201 | 15.9% | N/A |
| Gibson Ek High School Issaquah | 198 | 14.6% | 62.4% |
| Innovation Lab High School Bothell | 252 | 14.3% | 71.6% |
| Intergenerational High School Bellingham | 107 | 23.4% | 29.1% |
| Stem Academy at SVT Spokane Valley | 190 | 21.6% | 74.1% |
Matched among Washington high 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 The Center School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In King County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.5% | #111 of 271 | #32 of 59 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 18.4% | #242 of 321 ▼ 184 | #45 of 59 ▼ 16 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.2% | #124 of 327 ▼ 41 | #32 of 61 ▼ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -5.8pp | #54 of 259 | #12 of 57 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 165 | #335 of 570 | #71 of 97 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 14.5% | #371 of 386 | #65 of 76 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -31.8% | #10 of 164 | #6 of 34 |
Ranked against other public high 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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
165
-86 (-34%) vs 2020
-45% since 2010-11, when it was 300
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
was 17.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 165 | 11.8 | 14.0:1 | 15% (24) |
| 2023-24 | 184 | 12.8 | 14.4:1 | 17% (32) |
| 2022-23 | 245 | 14.6 | 16.8:1 | 22% (55) |
| 2020-21 | 251 | 14 | 17.9:1 | 14% (36) |
| 2017-18 | 242 | 13.2 | 18.3:1 | 12% (30) |
| 2015-16 | 270 | 14 | 19.3:1 | 17% (47) |
| 2010-11 | 300 | 14 | 21.4:1 | 17% (51) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for The Center School.
Since 2017-18: students down 32% (242 to 165); teachers down 11% (13.2 to 11.8).
About The Center School
Among the schools in SEATTLE, Washington, is The Center School, a very small high school. The school counted 165 students in 2024-25, covering grades 9 through 12. The school is 71% below the average for high schools in Washington.
Seattle School District No. 1 serves 50,773 students across 107 schools.
At The Center School, 58% of students are White. It is also 10% Hispanic and 8% multiracial. Census estimates put King County at about 55% White, close to the school's figure.
The Center School has 11.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of about 14.0:1. High schools in Washington average 21.6:1, 7.6 more students per teacher than here. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 15% at The Center School. The rate at public schools in King County averages 38%, higher than here.
After accounting for student poverty, The Center School is in the bottom 10% of Washington schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results of 46.5% is 24.0 points below the 70.5% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
The county, King County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $124,746, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 57% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. The county's public schools total 544, with about 278,492 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, John Hay Elementary School, is about 0.8 miles. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. The Center School is 5th of 6 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Large: inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
From 251 students in 2020-21, enrollment fell to 165 by 2024-25. Students per teacher dropped from 17.9 in 2020-21 to 14.0 in 2024-25.
The discussion board for The Center School is open to topics like pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
King County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,287,171
Census ACS
Median income
$124,746
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
57%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
544
278,492 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Seattle School District No. 1
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,770 students
- Ballard High SchoolHigh · 1,697 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 1,542 students
- Garfield High SchoolHigh · 1,507 students
- West Seattle High SchoolHigh · 1,479 students
- Ingraham High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
Other schools in SEATTLE
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,770 students
- Ballard High SchoolHigh · 1,697 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 1,542 students
- Garfield High SchoolHigh · 1,507 students
- West Seattle High SchoolHigh · 1,479 students
- Ingraham High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
Nearby schools
- John Hay Elementary School0.8 mi · 257
- McClure Middle School1.1 mi · 474
- Queen Anne Elementary1.1 mi · 159
- Frantz Coe Elementary School1.5 mi · 467
- Lowell Elementary School1.5 mi · 392
- Cascade Parent Partnership Program1.7 mi · 375
Frequently asked questions
About The Center SchoolHow many students attend The Center School?
The Center School enrolls approximately 165 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does The Center School serve?
The Center School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at The Center School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at The Center School is approximately 14.0:1 (12 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at The Center School?
At The Center School, the student body is approximately 58% White, 10% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is The Center School in?
The Center School is part of Seattle School District No. 1.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.