Original Research by School Decision on Anacortes High School
Anacortes High School serves grades nine through twelve as the sole comprehensive high school of the Anacortes School District, located on Fidalgo Island in Skagit County. The school occupies a campus separate from the downtown core, which is the civic and commercial hub near the marina and Washington State Ferries terminal. The community around it blends small-town coastal character with industrial infrastructure: two oil refineries are the largest employers, and tourism, yacht construction, and the ferry system also anchor the local economy. The city operates its own fiber-optic internet network, a distinctive public utility. Housing costs in the area are elevated relative to national averages, and the combination of home prices and rents suggests that affordability is a consideration for many households.
Academically, the school posted proficiency rates on state assessments for the most recent year that give a clear picture. In English language arts, the share of students meeting or exceeding standards was strong. In science, the result was similarly high. In math, the proficiency rate was notably lower, sitting at roughly three in five students. These figures represent a single year of data, so year-over-year trends are not available, but the pattern is common across many high schools: literacy and science often outpace math. A parent may want to ask the school directly about how math instruction is structured and whether additional support is available for students who need it.
The student body reflects the broader community’s demographics. The majority of students are white. Hispanic students make up a meaningful minority, and smaller shares are Asian, Black, multiracial, or Native American. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that the school serves a mix of income levels but is not disproportionately high-poverty compared to many Washington high schools. Data on special education and English learner populations were not provided, and those are gaps a family might wish to investigate.
No specific program offerings were listed in the data, so the breadth of Advanced Placement, career and technical education, or dual-credit pathways is not known from this report. Similarly, the graduation rate, chronic absenteeism, discipline statistics, and staffing ratios were all absent. For a family considering this school, those would be useful points to follow up on with the district.
The high school sits within a district for which no recent parent-relevant changes were publicly identified in a search. The wider Anacortes community has seen modest population growth, with a slightly older age profile. The city’s extensive parks and forest lands, Deception Pass State Park, and the ferry connections to the San Juan Islands are major quality-of-life assets. The local economy is stable but shaped by heavy industry, which families may want to factor into their sense of the environment their teenager will experience.
Anacortes High School presents as a reasonably solid academic option for a coastal town of its size, with notably strong results in ELA and science and a math result that is functional but not at the same level. The student body is not especially diverse, and the surrounding area is relatively expensive. The missing data on programs and outcomes means a family should make their own inquiries to get a fuller sense of what the school offers beyond its core academic numbers.
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