Firgrove Elementary, Puyallup WA

Original Research by School Decision on Firgrove Elementary

Firgrove Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in the Puyallup School District, a large, growing district that is the ninth-largest in Washington. The school is in the city of Puyallup, a mix of a historic downtown core and modern suburban development on South Hill. The annual Washington State Fair grounds sit centrally in the city, and the surrounding Puyallup Valley retains agricultural roots. The district recently passed a school bond to fund the replacement of Firgrove Elementary itself, along with a new elementary school and the replacement of another campus, which means the physical building families encounter today may be replaced in the coming years. The bond also funds district-wide safety, HVAC, and roofing upgrades.

Firgrove is a regular public school with a large enrollment for an elementary serving grades KG through 6. The student body is racially and economically diverse, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. White students form the largest single group, followed by a significant proportion of students who identify with two or more races, and then Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. The school's state assessment results show a mixed picture. In English language arts, proficiency rates varied considerably by grade, with one grade near the midpoint of the state benchmark and another notably lower. Math results showed a similar pattern, with some grade-level cohorts performing stronger than others, though overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades placed Firgrove in the bottom quartile when compared with other districts in Pierce County. Science results, which are only tested in fifth grade, showed a modest share of students meeting the bar. A single year of data is available, so no trend can be reported.

The absence of data on chronic absenteeism and special population counts, such as for students with disabilities or English learners, is a gap for families who want a fuller picture of the school environment. A parent may want to ask the school or district about these figures directly. The school also lacks a reported Title I status, and no information on course access, discipline, or staffing was available. The Puyallup School District implemented budget reductions for the 2023-2024 school year, driven by declining enrollment and the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds, which affected staffing and programs across the district. That context matters for understanding the resources available at the building level.

Housing in the area is priced near the Washington state benchmark, with rents rising at a recent clip, making affordability a consideration. The city has a farmers' market, commuter rail to Tacoma and Seattle, and proximity to the Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound for outdoor access. For a family, Firgrove offers a diverse, mid-sized elementary setting in a district that is actively investing in facilities while managing budget constraints. The academic performance, based on the available state tests, falls in a weaker position relative to other schools in the county, which is a factor to weigh against the school's other attributes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 53% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 50% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 39% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 47% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 25% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 33% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 32% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 55% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

This schoolPuyallup 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 3Lower-income18%Higher-income33%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income61%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income28%Higher-income59%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income57%Higher-income44%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income50%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income54%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income36%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income50%10 pp gap