Waller Road Elementary

Waller Road Elementary is an elementary school of small scale in Tacoma, Washington, run under Puyallup School District, teacheing 306 students in grades K through 6.

Within Puyallup School District, which oversees 37 schools and 23,026 students, Waller Road Elementary is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Waller Road Elementary reports that 52% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school reports 21% Hispanic, 14% multiracial, 5% Native American, 5% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 64% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.8:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 61% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is higher than Pierce County's rate of about 50%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Waller Road Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 39.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 36.2%.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Pierce County put the typical household earns roughly $99,564 per year, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Pierce County's 287 public schools (combined enrollment of about 138,462 students), Waller Road Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: First Creek Middle School, around 1.0 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Waller Road Elementary ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 28.8%.

The campus sits in a residential setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Waller Road Elementary has edged down 18%, going from 371 students in 2018 to 306 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 17.5:1 in 2018 to 13.8:1 today.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.