The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in English language arts. The lowest is 23% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Jenkins Junior/senior High
Jenkins Junior/Senior High serves grades seven through twelve in Chewelah, a small rural town in Stevens County roughly forty-five miles northwest of Spokane. The school sits within the Chewelah School District, which covers a community that once centered on a magnesite plant and has since diversified into agriculture, a ski resort, a golf course, and a casino. Chewelah was named Washington’s second state-designated Creative District, pointing to an active arts scene that includes a Center for the Arts and a local theater school. The town has a compact downtown and a modest population that has grown slowly over the last century, with limited new development pressure. The district brief did not surface recent programmatic or facility changes that might shift a family’s sense of the school’s direction.
The school is relatively small for a combined junior-senior high, with enrollment spread fairly evenly across grades seven through twelve. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares identifying as two or more races, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the record.
Because Jenkins is a combined school serving both middle and high school grades, state testing results are reported for grades seven and eight. In English language arts, seventh graders showed a proficient rate that was moderately above the school’s own math results, while eighth graders had a lower proficient rate. In math, proficiency for seventh graders was modest, and for eighth graders it was notably lower. In eighth-grade science, about a third of students met the proficient bar. These results are drawn from a single year of testing, so no trend line is available. A combined proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places Jenkins below the midpoint among the districts in Stevens County. Families looking for a school with stronger or more consistent test performance may want to discuss state assessment results with the school directly.
The school did not report a four-year graduation rate in the available data, so that measure cannot be evaluated here. Similarly, chronic absenteeism data was not provided. For a high school serving twelfth grade, the absence of a graduation rate is a gap worth raising with the district.
The school offers a setting that blends middle and high school grades in a single building, which can provide younger students a gradual transition to upper-level coursework and older students opportunities for mentorship. Because the school combines grade levels, course access and program offerings such as Advanced Placement, career and technical education, or dual-credit pathways were not listed in the available data. A parent interested in the breadth of academic options should check directly with the school.
Housing in the area is priced well below the state median. The local economy carries an unemployment rate in line with the national figure. The combination of relatively affordable home values and a small-town rural setting may appeal to families seeking a lower-cost entry point into Washington’s housing market, though the trade-off is geographic distance from Spokane’s job and cultural centers.
This is a school where academic proficiency numbers, particularly in math, represent an area to investigate further. The small enrollment, rural setting, and combined junior-senior high structure give it a specific character that will fit some students well and leave others wanting more options. Without graduation data or a clear picture of upper-level course offerings, a family considering Jenkins should prioritize a conversation with the school to understand the full high school experience.
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