Technology Access Foundation Academy at Saghalie, Federal Way WA

Original Research by School Decision on Technology Access Foundation Academy at Saghalie

Technology Access Foundation Academy at Saghalie is a regular public school in Federal Way that serves grades six through twelve as part of Federal Way Public Schools. The school sits within a mid-sized city that grew as a suburban bedroom community for Seattle and Tacoma workers after the interstate arrived, with a built environment of landscaped apartment complexes, strip malls, and shopping corridors. A light rail station opened in late 2025, connecting the city’s downtown transit hub to the broader region.

Academically, state testing results from the most recent year place this school in the bottom quarter of districts in King County when measured by overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, proficiency rates were low across grades six, seven, and eight. In English language arts, rates were modestly higher but still below where many families would hope to see them. Science results for eighth grade followed a similar pattern. A parent may want to discuss with the school what instructional supports and improvement strategies are in place, particularly given that only one year of testing data is available in this record, making trend analysis impossible.

The enrollment is largest in the middle grades and drops sharply in high school, with a very small cohort of students in grades nine through twelve. The student body is economically diverse, with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Racially and ethnically, the largest group is Hispanic, followed by White students, those identifying as two or more races, Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Asian. No data was reported on special education or English learner populations.

No specific program offerings were reported in the available data. The school’s name includes “Technology Access Foundation,” which may point to a technology-focused mission, but without direct documentation from the school it is not possible to describe what that means in practice.

Because the high school portion is very small, standard outcome measures such as graduation rate, chronic absenteeism, and discipline data were not available. A family considering this school for high school should ask directly about graduation pathways, college and career readiness, and the range of courses available.

Federal Way’s housing market is moderate for King County, though the county overall remains expensive. The city has seen a slight population decline in recent years and the light rail expansion is the most prominent new development. The district itself did not report any recent major changes or strategic initiatives in the materials reviewed.

This is a school that may suit a family looking for a small high school program within a diverse and economically mixed student body, but the academic performance figures are a clear area for deeper inquiry. For middle school families, the larger grade cohorts provide a more typical school experience, while the high school years appear much more intimate by comparison.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 18% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 24% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 24% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 30% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 718%

School 18% · District 37% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 38% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Science

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 30% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

This schoolFederal Way School District, 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 5Lower-income14%Higher-income36%22 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income42%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income29%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income16%Higher-income46%30 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income4%Higher-income16%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income23%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income25%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income11%Higher-income15%4 pp gap