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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SPOKANE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530825001414

Whitman Elementary

5400 N Helena St, Spokane, WA 99207 · (509) 354-4320 · Spokane County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL362 STUDENTS
Enrollment
362
Elementary
DISTRICT 360 · STATE 380
Student : Teacher
12.3:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.6:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
86%
312 students
DISTRICT 60% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K134%
Kindergarten5014%
Grade 15214%
Grade 27220%
Grade 36217%
Grade 44914%
Grade 56418%

This year's kindergarten class (50) is 22% smaller than its 5th grade class (64).

Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 68% · US 70%
White
21559%
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 47% · US 43%
Hispanic
5515%
DISTRICT 12% · STATE 27% · US 30%
Black
154%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 5% · US 15%
Asian
175%
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 9% · US 6%
Two+
4312%
DISTRICT 13% · STATE 9% · US 5%
Native American
92%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 1% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
82%
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 2% · US 0%
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
Male
19654%
Female
16646%

Discussions

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Test scores

Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded Standard
English Language Arts
38.7%
WA avg 58.4% . +5.2pp since 2014
Math
35.3%
WA avg 51.2% . +1.1pp since 2014

What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 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 5 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 1 points.

Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2538.7%35.3%
2023-2440.6%41.7%
2022-2341.6%35.3%
2021-2234.3%29.1%
2018-1940.8%34.7%
2017-1831.0%29.2%
2016-1735.1%39.6%
2015-1636.9%42.8%
2014-1533.5%34.1%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of WA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
39.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.4%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+17.1pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 22% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 17 points, placing it in Washington's top 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 Whitman Elementary

Whitman Elementary's state test result (39.5% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Whitman Elementary this school36286.2%39.5%
Bemiss Elementary
Spokane
36888.3%27.9%
Regal Elementary
Spokane
38184.3%25.9%
Holmes Elementary
Spokane
37884.1%27.4%
Audubon Elementary
Spokane
39885.2%28.4%
Arlington Elementary
Spokane
37983.4%28.4%
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 Whitman Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn WashingtonIn Spokane County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
39.5%#639 of 936#63 of 82
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
35.3%#769 of 1,103
▼ 172
#63 of 83
▼ 8
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
38.7%#783 of 1,102
▼ 75
#66 of 83
▼ 7
3-year test score change
ranked biggest gain first
+5.3pp#246 of 928#29 of 81
Enrollment
ranked largest first
362#767 of 1,268#55 of 92
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
12.3:1#35 of 1,085#12 of 83
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
60.5%#511 of 1,088#16 of 83
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
86.2%#55 of 1,169#5 of 86
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-35.5%#60 of 778#3 of 67
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.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
362
-84 (-19%) vs 2020
-44% since 1990-91, when it was 651
Student : Teacher
12.3:1
was 13.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2536229.312.3:186% (312)
2023-2437733.211.4:188% (333)
2022-2340135.111.4:185% (342)
2020-214463313.5:185% (380)
2017-1856141.913.4:182% (459)
2015-165684014.2:186% (487)
2010-115453018.2:178% (423)
2000-015472720.3:1N/A
1990-916512823.3:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Whitman Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 35% (561 to 362); teachers down 30% (41.9 to 29.3).

About Whitman Elementary

Whitman Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Spokane, Washington, one of the schools in Spokane School District. Grades offered run from pre-K through 5, with 362 students enrolled.

District-wide, Spokane School District has 62 schools and 28,853 students.

At 59%, White students outnumber all other groups at Whitman Elementary combined. The school is also 15% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, 5% Asian, and 4% Black. The White share of the county population is higher, at 83%. Whitman Elementary has a diversity index of 61%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.

Teachers at Whitman Elementary total 29.3 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 12.3:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Washington average 17.3:1. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 86%. Compared with the 52% average for public schools in Spokane County, the school's rate is higher.

When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Whitman Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Washington schools. It scores 39.5%; the prediction is 22.4%.

In the county around the school, Spokane County, median household income is about $78,582, roughly 33% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Whitman Elementary is among the 187 public schools in Spokane County.

Nearest public school: Rogers High School, about 0.5 miles away. The five-mile area around Whitman Elementary holds at least 8 other public schools. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Whitman Elementary at 1st of 7.

For locale, NCES codes Whitman Elementary as City: Mid-size.

Enrollment was 446 in 2020-21 and 362 in 2024-25, a decrease of 84 students. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 13.5:1 to 12.3:1.

Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.

Spokane County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
549,056
Census ACS
Median income
$78,582
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
187
76,588 students

Quick facts

School name
Whitman Elementary
District
Spokane School District
Address
5400 N Helena St, Spokane, WA 99207
Phone
(509) 354-4320
County
Spokane County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
362
Teachers (FTE)
29
Student–teacher ratio
12.3:1
Free and reduced lunch
312 (86%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
530825001414
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Spokane School District
Other schools in Spokane
Other Whitman Elementary schools

9 other US public schools in 9 states are named Whitman Elementary. Whitman Elementary is the 5th largest of the 10.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Whitman Elementary
How large is Whitman Elementary?
Whitman Elementary enrolls approximately 362 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Whitman Elementary serve?
Whitman Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Whitman Elementary have?
Whitman Elementary employs 29 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.3:1.
What is the student diversity at Whitman Elementary?
Student demographics at Whitman Elementary are roughly 59% White, 15% Hispanic, 4% Black, 5% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Who oversees Whitman Elementary?
Whitman Elementary is overseen by Spokane School District in Spokane County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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