Impact Public Schools, Tukwila WA

Original Research by School Decision on Impact Public Schools

Impact Public Schools is a charter elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Tukwila, a suburban city immediately south of Seattle. The school operates as its own district entity under Washington’s charter school law, which means it functions independently of the traditional Tukwila School District. Its campus sits on 148th Street, in a part of the city shaped by highways, retail corridors, and industrial zones.

Tukwila itself has a strong commercial and industrial identity, with more people working in the city than living there. Major employers include Boeing, Amazon, and a cluster of corporate datacenters. The city is one of the most ethnically diverse in the Pacific Northwest, and that diversity is reflected in the student body at Impact. The school’s enrollment is heavily weighted toward students who identify as Black or African American, followed by Hispanic students, with smaller shares of Asian, white, and multiracial students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of concentrated economic need.

The school has only one year of state assessment data available, so it is not yet possible to see a trend. In that single year, Impact’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades—math, English language arts, and science—placed the school below the midpoint among districts in King County. Within the school, proficiency rates in math and ELA declined from third grade to fifth grade, a pattern that a parent may want to ask the school about. Science results are available only for fifth grade, and they fall in a similar range. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, and data on chronic absenteeism and discipline was not reported. A parent looking for a fuller picture of student support or school climate may need to request that information directly from the school.

The district that holds Impact’s charter—listed as Impact | Puget Sound Elementary—appears to be a single-school district created for this charter. A search for recent district-level changes, such as curriculum shifts, property-tax measures, or leadership transitions, turned up no public reports. The school has been operating for a few years, but the available data does not indicate whether it has expanded or altered its program.

Housing in the 98168 ZIP code, where the school is located, has values that are close to the Washington state median. Rents are in line with the broader Seattle metro area, which has seen steady increases in shelter costs. The national mortgage rate at the time of this data was just over six percent, and the national unemployment rate was a bit above four percent. These economic conditions shape the affordability of the area for families considering the school.

Impact Public Schools offers a public charter option in a diverse, transit-connected community. The school’s academic results are below the average of other King County districts, and the single year of testing means there is no track record of improvement or decline. Families who prioritize a neighborhood school with a diverse student body and a strong economic support program, and who are comfortable with a charter model that is still establishing its academic track record, may find this a reasonable fit. Others may want to investigate how the school supports students who are not yet meeting proficiency standards, and whether the school provides enrichment or intervention programs that are not captured in the available data.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 348%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 49%

even with state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Science

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

This schoolImpact | Puget Sound Elementary, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income43%Higher-income58%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income46%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income53%Higher-income58%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income73%31 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income34%Higher-income46%11 pp gap