Environmental & Adventure School, Kirkland WA

Original Research by School Decision on Environmental & Adventure School

The Environmental & Adventure School serves sixth through eighth grade as an alternative school within the Lake Washington School District. Its name and type signal a focused approach. The school sits in Kirkland, a compact suburban city on Lake Washington east of Seattle. The downtown waterfront has restaurants, art galleries, a performing arts center, and public parks. A gravel trail links waterfront parks, and the Cross Kirkland Corridor, a rail-trail, roughly bisects the city. Kirkland’s population has grown substantially in recent decades, with thousands of condominiums and apartments built since the 1990s. Major employers include EvergreenHealth, Google, and the school district itself, giving the area an employment base that includes healthcare, technology, and education.

On state assessments, the school posts very strong results. Across all tested subjects and grades, the overall proficiency rate places the school in the top quartile relative to districts in King County. In math, strong majorities of students at each grade level meet the state benchmark. In English language arts, the share is similarly high. In science, tested only in eighth grade, the school also records a high rate. These are single-year data points; multi-year trends are not available because only one year of data was reported, so a parent may want to ask the school about consistency over time.

The school is small and serves a specific population within the district. The student body is majority white, with a substantial Asian representation and a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races. Very few students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not report counts for students with disabilities or English learners, which may reflect its alternative nature or simply missing data; a parent should check directly with the school about the supports available. Because the school serves only middle grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Information on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, and course access was not available in the data provided.

Housing costs reflect the broader King County market, which is expensive. Home values in the area are well above national benchmarks, and rents are similarly high. The local housing market has seen a slight softening in listing prices but remains competitive. For families moving into the area, affordability is a real consideration.

The Environmental & Adventure School is a focused, academically strong option for a family seeking a small middle school environment with a clearly defined identity. Its students perform at a high level on state tests, and the school’s alternative designation suggests a program that may prioritize interdisciplinary, experiential, or outdoor learning—though the data does not detail the curriculum itself. The combination of high proficiency, low poverty rate, and selective size means the peer group is academically oriented and relatively homogeneous. A family interested in a more diverse or larger middle school setting, or one with a broader range of extracurricular and athletic offerings, would want to explore other options within the Lake Washington School District or nearby. The school fits a family that values high academic expectations in a small, specialized program and is already situated in or able to afford the Kirkland housing market.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 687%

School 87% · District 27% · ▲ 61 pts above district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 38% · ▲ 43 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 887%

School 87% · District 73% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 681%

School 81% · District 77% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 785%

School 85% · District 33% · ▲ 52 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 889%

School 89% · District 80% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Science

Grade 885%

School 85% · District 75% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

This schoolLake Washington 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.