Whitney Elementary

Whitney Elementary operates as an average-sized elementary campus in Yakima, Washington, overseen by Yakima School District. Current enrollment sits at 433 students spanning grades pre-K through 5.

Across the 27 schools in Yakima School District (15,488 students total), Whitney Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Whitney Elementary shows that 70% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. Beyond that, the school shows 23% White, 3% multiracial, 2% Asian. By comparison, Yakima County as a whole is about 52% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 81% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Whitney Elementary sits in the top 10% of Washington schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 25.8%; actual is 37.0%, +11.2 points clear of the demographic baseline.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Yakima County indicate the typical household earns roughly $70,656 per year, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 12%. Across Yakima County's 119 public schools (combined enrollment of about 52,145 students), Whitney Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Wilson Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Whitney Elementary. On composite proficiency, Whitney Elementary comes 4th of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 32.0%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Whitney Elementary has declined 19%, going from 533 students in 2018 to 433 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 28% to 23% across the same window.

Inside the community feed, members of the Whitney Elementary community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.