The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 43% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Nine Mile Family Partnership Program
Nine Mile Family Partnership Program is an alternative school within the Nine Mile Falls School District, serving kindergarten through seventh grade. Its very name signals its purpose: this is a parent-partnership model, a choice for families who want a direct hand in their child’s education. The school is small and it is designed to be that way.
The enrollment is very small, which is typical of a partnership program where families often commit to a co-teaching or co-learning role. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up a modest share. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is on the lower end for the area. The school is not a charter or magnet school, and its alternative designation means it operates under a different instructional framework than a standard neighborhood elementary or middle school.
Because this is a small alternative school, state testing data is thin. For the grade levels that did have reported results, overall proficiency across math, English language arts, and science sat near the midpoint among Spokane County districts, though slightly below it. A parent should note that many grade-level results were suppressed to protect student privacy, which is standard when a tested group is very small, and single-year data gives no trend. The school’s academic profile is best understood not as a single score but as a reflection of its size and model.
The program serves grades K through 7, so it does not have a graduation rate. It also does not appear to offer the kind of program breadth—AP, career and technical education, or multiple electives—that a larger comprehensive school would. That is inherent to its design: families who choose this program are typically seeking a focused, hands-on, parent-involved academic pathway rather than a wide array of course options.
Nine Mile Falls itself is an unincorporated exurb of Spokane, set along the Spokane River about nine miles northwest of downtown. It is not suburban sprawl; it retains a rural, wooded character, with ponderosa pine covering the steep river valley. The community is split by the river, with the post office and most services on the eastern side and a park, fire station, and the elementary school on the western side. There is no traditional downtown. The Spokane River Centennial Trail runs through it, connecting Sontag Park to Riverside State Park. The area has seen little recent development pressure and remains sparsely populated. Housing values are a meaningful consideration: they are above the national median but still below the Washington state benchmark, and mortgage rates and rent costs make this area moderately expensive for a rural exurb. The local economy is anchored by the Avista Utilities hydroelectric plant and the school district itself, with most employed residents likely commuting to Spokane.
For the right family, this school offers a specific proposition. It is for a parent who wants to be deeply involved in the classroom, who prefers a very small learning community, and who values a program built around family partnership over a broad slate of extracurriculars or course options. A family considering this program should verify with the school how the partnership model actually works day to day, and understand that state test scores are only sparsely available. For a family looking for a traditional K-8 with a full program and robust comparative achievement data, this is not that fit. For a family seeking an intimate, alternative, parent-collaborative setting in a rural exurban community, this school is built around exactly that premise.
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