The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Science. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Parade
PARADE is an alternative school serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade within the Riverview School District, located in Carnation, Washington. Its student body is small, and the school’s size is a defining characteristic: the enrollment is small enough that classroom cohorts are often quite intimate. The student population is predominantly white, with much smaller shares identifying as two or more races or as Hispanic, and the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is below the district average. Because the school covers a wide grade span, it serves a mix of very young children and high schoolers in a single setting, which is uncommon and suggests a nontraditional environment.
Academic achievement data from state assessments is available only for a limited set of grades and subjects due to the small cohort sizes. For the grades where results were reported, math proficiency among seventh and eighth graders was well below the midpoint compared to other districts in King County. English language arts proficiency in those same grades was higher, but still trailed many of its county peers. Science results for eighth graders were more in line with the broader county range, though the school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint relative to other schools in King County. The data is thin enough that a parent may want to ask the school about its typical academic trajectory for students across all grade levels, especially since the multi-year trend shows only a single year of reported data, making it impossible to gauge direction.
The school is designated as an alternative school, which in Washington can mean a variety of instructional models, often geared toward students who benefit from a smaller, more flexible, or more individualized approach. The district brief notes that Riverview School District voters recently approved a capital bond to fund a new elementary school in the Duvall area, along with safety upgrades and facility modernization across the district. A new English language arts curriculum for elementary grades was also adopted, starting in a recent school year. These district-level changes may not directly affect PARADE’s programming, since the school operates as an alternative setting, but they reflect a district that is investing in its broader infrastructure and curriculum.
Carnation itself is a small city in the Snoqualmie Valley, originally a dairy town that transformed in the 1990s into a bedroom community for the Seattle Eastside. The built environment mixes a compact downtown along a state highway with surrounding farmland and rural residential areas. The city has a very small footprint, so destinations within town are close together, but the overall setting is rural. The Snoqualmie Valley Trail runs through Carnation, offering walking and biking connections to neighboring communities. A major local attraction is a large working farm that also operates an amusement park, market, and brewery, drawing many annual visitors. Local civic life centers on that downtown corridor and nearby parks, including a large county park with river access, trails, and a suspension bridge. The city hosts annual community events such as a Fourth of July parade and a festival. Most employed residents commute to job centers on the Eastside, as Carnation has limited local employment beyond agriculture and small businesses.
Because PARADE spans the full K-12 grade range and is an alternative school, it does not fit the typical profile of a neighborhood elementary or comprehensive high school. Families considering it should understand the school’s specific mission and philosophy, which the data does not detail. The housing market in Carnation is expensive, with home values above the state median and well above the national median, reflecting the area’s desirability as a commuter town. The county housing market is competitive, with a limited supply of homes relative to demand. For a family evaluating this school, the core question is whether the alternative setting matches their child’s needs, since the available test data is sparse and the school’s academic patterns are difficult to fully assess from public numbers alone.
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