Original Research by School Decision on Homelink
Homelink is an alternative school within the Lake Stevens School District, serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is among the smallest schools in the state in terms of enrollment. The student body consists of a handful of students, a reflection of its specialized purpose as an alternative setting. The school describes itself as an alternative school, which in Washington typically means a program designed for students who thrive in a nontraditional learning environment, often involving a significant home‑based or independent study component.
Because the school’s enrollment is so small, the state suppresses any assessment results to protect student privacy. For the same reason, no information on proficiency rates, participation rates, or average scale scores is available in the data, and no graduation rate is reported (the school has no students at the grade‑12 level during the data year). A parent looking at state test scores will not find any. This is not a sign of weak or strong performance; it is a direct consequence of the school’s size. Chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing data are also absent from the available record. The school’s status as an alternative program, together with its tiny scale, means the typical metrics used to compare schools across a district or county simply do not apply here.
The Lake Stevens School District, of which Homelink is a part, has experienced considerable growth over the past decade. Voters have approved two construction bonds and capital levies in recent years, funding a new elementary school that opened in 2022 as well as safety upgrades, classroom capacity projects, and site acquisition for future needs. The district has been responding to rapid enrollment growth across its conventional schools, a context that makes Homelink’s small, alternative model stand out as a distinct option within the same system.
Lake Stevens itself sits in Snohomish County, an area that has seen substantial residential development. Housing is expensive relative to national benchmarks. Rents and home values in the school’s zip code are above the state average, and the area has a history of fast growth. Families considering Homelink will find that the broader district is investing in facilities to keep pace with new residents, but that Homelink is a very different kind of school from a neighborhood elementary or comprehensive high school.
What does all this mean for a parent or resident trying to understand Homelink? The school is not a large, full‑service building with a sports schedule, a band program, or a typical course catalog. It is, by design, an alternative path. The available data tells you very little about academic outcomes because outcomes are not reported. A parent who wants to know whether students at Homelink go on to college, or how its graduates fare, will need to speak directly with the school or the district’s alternative‑program coordinator. The same applies to special education services, English learner supports, and enrichment offerings: the data set does not include those details. The school’s `programs` section is empty.
For a family seeking a highly individualized, perhaps home‑based or blended learning model, Homelink may fit. For a family that wants a traditional classroom experience with a full range of extracurriculars and a clear public school accountability record, this would be an unconventional choice. The best next step would be to contact Homelink directly to understand its specific instructional model, enrollment process, and any available informal outcome information that does not appear in public data sets. The school’s address is in Lake Stevens, and it operates as part of the local public school system, so transport and enrollment policies follow district guidelines. Given the extremely small enrollment, families should also confirm current availability before making decisions based on the program’s existence.
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