Olympia Regional Learning Academy, Olympia WA

Original Research by School Decision on Olympia Regional Learning Academy

Olympia Regional Learning Academy is an alternative school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade within the Olympia School District. It is located in Washington's capital city, a community shaped by state government, a notable arts and music scene, and the presence of The Evergreen State College. For a family considering this school, the most important thing to understand is what kind of alternative school it is. The data does not specify the school’s particular philosophy or instructional model, so a parent will want to investigate whether it follows a project-based, self-paced, online, or other non-traditional approach to fit their child’s needs.

Enrollment is small for a K-12 school, with a student body that is majority white, a sizable Hispanic population, and smaller shares of Asian and multiracial students. Just over a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate lower than the national average and reflective of the area’s economic profile. Because the school serves all grades, there is no single peer cohort a student will move through; the elementary and high school groups are quite small, especially at the upper end where each high school grade has only a handful of students.

On state assessments, the school shows a clear strength in English language arts and science, with proficiency rates in elementary grades that are notably high. Seventh and eighth grade ELA results are more moderate, but the overall picture in reading and writing is positive. Math proficiency is a weaker area across most tested grades, with rates that are substantially lower than the ELA results. A parent should look into how the school’s alternative model addresses math instruction and whether students who struggle in that subject receive targeted support. In the broader context of Thurston County districts, the school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects lands in the top quartile, a strong showing that reflects the high ELA and science outcomes pulling up the average.

Because the school is an alternative program, some typical metrics are absent from the available data. There is no graduation rate, which is a gap a parent may want to ask the school about directly. The school’s small high school cohort may graduate at a rate that does not get publicly reported in the same way as a comprehensive high school. Similarly, there is no information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing ratios. The school also does not have a Title I designation, and no program offerings like Advanced Placement or dual credit were listed.

For a family in the Olympia area, this school offers a small, alternative setting where students in elementary grades are performing well in reading and science. The middle and high school experience will involve very small peer groups, which could be a strong fit for a student who needs a more individualized environment but also means fewer classmates and potentially fewer elective or extracurricular options than a large comprehensive high school would provide. A parent should plan to talk with the school directly about its specific model, how it supports math learning, and what post-secondary pathways its graduates pursue.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 53% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 51% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 44% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 52% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 55% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 383%

School 83% · District 55% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 60% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Grade 596%

School 96% · District 61% · ▲ 35 pts above district

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

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 36% · ▲ 36 pts above district

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

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 67% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 66% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 592%

School 92% · District 61% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 60% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

This schoolOlympia 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income86%Higher-income100%14 pp gap