The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Science. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Collins Elementary
Collins Elementary, a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade, sits within the Franklin Pierce School District in a residential part of Tacoma. The school’s demographic portrait shows a diverse student body. The largest single group by race and ethnicity is white, followed by a substantial Hispanic population, and then smaller but present shares of students who are Asian, Black, native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native. A significant number of students also identify as two or more races. The school qualifies for federal meal assistance at a level that makes it a high-poverty school by standard measures, which carries implications for the resources and support systems families can expect to find.
Tacoma itself is a mid-sized port city and the county seat of Pierce County. Its economy is anchored by healthcare, retail, and educational services, with the Port of Tacoma driving transportation and warehousing employment. The city is growing, with a recent uptick in proposed housing units under a local initiative. Walkability varies sharply by neighborhood; downtown and districts like Proctor and Stadium are more pedestrian-friendly, while much of the city is car-dependent. Collins Elementary is situated in an area where the housing market is significantly less expensive than the statewide benchmark, though still outpacing the national average. The median rent in the immediate area is at a level that, for a family with children, makes the financial trade-off between renting and owning a real consideration.
On state academic assessments, the school’s results place it below the midpoint among districts in Pierce County when looking at overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, the share of students meeting standards in third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade all land within a range that is lower than the median for the county. English language arts scores follow a similar pattern, though the fifth-grade cohort did somewhat better, with about half of students reaching the proficiency benchmark. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows a comparable result, with just over half of students meeting the standard. Because this is a single year’s snapshot for an elementary school, and the data does not include trend information, there is no way to tell from the available evidence whether these numbers represent a long-standing pattern or a single-season fluctuation. The school does not serve grades that generate a graduation rate, so that measure is not applicable here.
The Franklin Pierce School District, for its part, did not have readily available public information about recent strategic initiatives, budget priorities, or programmatic changes. A search for parent-relevant district developments turned up little, so that context is absent rather than filled in. What is clear is that Collins Elementary, like many high-poverty schools in Washington state, faces the challenge of delivering strong academic outcomes while also addressing the broader needs that come with concentrated economic disadvantage. A parent considering Collins Elementary may want to ask the school directly about specific supports for students who are behind grade level, as well as enrichment offerings that can complement the core curriculum. The school’s website would be a starting point for such inquiries.
The peer environment at Collins is shaped by a mix of backgrounds and income levels, with a majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The enrollment is large enough to offer multiple classrooms per grade, which typically allows for some grouping by instructional need. The school appears to function as a neighborhood anchor in its corner of Tacoma, serving families who live within its attendance boundary. The proximity to Joint Base Lewis-McChord means a portion of the student body may come from military families, though the data does not specify how many. For a family weighing this school, the academic results are the central soft spot. The district as a whole does not appear from the available record to be undergoing any major restructuring or program overhaul that would change the experience for an incoming kindergartner. That leaves the school’s day-to-day leadership and teaching staff as the variables a parent would want to investigate most closely.
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