Whitman Elementary School

Whitman Elementary School, a mid-tier K-5 school in Tacoma, Washington, run under Tacoma School District, instructs 365 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

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

On demographics, Whitman Elementary School lists that the largest single group is Hispanic at 27%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school records 25% White, 19% multiracial, 16% Black, 6% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 13% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, The school lists 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.7:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 71% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Pierce County runs at roughly 50%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Whitman Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 32.4%, the actual is 31.5%, a residual of -0.9 points.

Around the school, census data for Pierce County shows 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), Whitman Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Lincoln High School, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Whitman Elementary School at 3rd of 7; the average score across the group is 31.0%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Whitman Elementary School has edged down 6%, going from 389 students in 2018 to 365 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share grew from 19% to 27%. Class-load math has rose: from 15.6:1 in 2018 to 16.7:1 in 2025.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.