The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in Math. The lowest is 61% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Amon Creek Elementary
Amon Creek Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Richland, Washington, as part of the Kennewick School District. It is a regular public school, and a sizable one for an elementary, enrolling a large student body. Its racial and ethnic composition is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and small shares of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Just over a fifth of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a share below the national average and one that suggests a middle-income peer environment. Data on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners was not available in the profile; a parent who wants to understand the school’s full support structure would need to ask the school directly.
Academically, the school turned in results that place it above the midpoint among districts in Benton County. On the state’s Smarter Balanced assessments, the school’s overall proficiency index sits in the top quartile compared to the six districts in the county. That is a strong showing, but the grade-level pattern is worth attention. In third-grade math, a large majority of students met the bar, and in fourth-grade math a similarly large majority did. By fifth grade, however, the math proficiency rate dropped considerably. English language arts held steadier: a solid majority was proficient in third grade, and roughly three-quarters were proficient in fourth and fifth grades. Fifth-grade science results showed a smaller majority reaching proficiency. The decline in math between fourth and fifth grade is sharp enough that a parent may want to ask the school how it supports students as they move into upper elementary math, and whether the fifth-grade cohort this year was an outlier or part of a pattern. The data set only includes a single year of results, so there is no trend to compare against.
The school sits in Richland, a city with an unusual history. Originally a small agricultural village, it was taken over by the federal government during World War II to house workers building the Hanford nuclear site. It incorporated as a city after the government relinquished ownership, and the economy has since broadened into technology, medicine, education, and transportation, though environmental cleanup at Hanford remains a major employer. The housing market is expensive relative to national norms; home values are well above the national median, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a typical home is more than the median rent, signaling that buying requires higher income. Rents, too, are above typical national levels, though the rent-to-income ratio is within a manageable range. Richland is growing steadily. The population has increased measurably since the 2020 census, driven by ongoing employment at Hanford and diversification into health care and tech. The city’s layout is suburban and car-oriented, with a mean commute time that reflects a spread-out built environment. Columbia Point along the Columbia River provides a recreational and dining hub, and the city runs a full slate of municipal utilities.
The Kennewick School District, which oversees Amon Creek, operates a bonds and levies program in which local voters decide on funding measures. Bonds, which require a supermajority, fund construction and capital projects; levies support ongoing programs and operations. The district updates levy funding annually and uses a Facility Study Committee to recommend capital projects based on enrollment growth and funding. A search for recent bond or levy outcomes did not yield specific results, so the current status of any active measures is not clear from the available information.
For a family considering this school, the picture is of an elementary in a growing, higher-cost city with strong but uneven academic results. The school’s overall proficiency is a clear strength relative to the county, but the slide in fifth-grade math creates a reason to look closer at how the upper grades handle math instruction. The school is large, the student body is not especially diverse economically, and the lack of publicly reported data on special education and English learner populations means a family with a child who may need those services should ask the school directly about staffing and programs.
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