Yelm High School 12

Yelm High School 12, an expansive 9-12 campus in Yelm, Washington, operated by Yelm School District, teaches 1,693 students, covering grades 9 through 12. That puts it 195% above the typical public school in Washington, which averages around 573 students.

Within Yelm School District, which oversees 10 schools and 5,671 students, Yelm High School 12 is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Yelm High School 12 lists that 59% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school logs 20% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, 2% Black, 2% Asian. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 72%.

In terms of school funding signals, The school reports having 69 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 24.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 21.6:1, putting Yelm High School 12 higher than the state norm the norm. Around 43% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Yelm High School 12 performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 51.4%, the actual is 40.9%, a residual of -10.5 points.

In the area at large, census data for Thurston County shows the typical household earns roughly $96,563 per year, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Yelm High School 12 is one of 86 public schools in Thurston County (combined enrollment of about 44,412 students).

Yelm Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.9 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Yelm High School 12 ranks 8th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 48.7%.

Yelm High School 12 operates from a town-center location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Yelm High School 12 has changed only slightly, going from 1,679 students in 2018 to 1,693 in 2025. The White share of enrollment shrank from 70% to 59% over that span. Class-load math has loosened: from 21.0:1 in 2018 to 24.6:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the Yelm High School 12 community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.