Original Research by School Decision on Quincy High School
Quincy High School is the comprehensive public high school of the Quincy School District, serving ninth through twelfth grade. It is a regular public school, not a charter school. The enrollment is large for a single high school by national standards, though the exact figure is on the page. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, reflecting the town’s broader demographics, with white and small numbers of other racial groups making up the rest. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on the share of students with disabilities or designated as English learners were not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it supports those populations.
The school is located in Quincy, a small city in Grant County in central Washington. The town’s economy rests on two backdrops: a long-standing agricultural sector, with potatoes, wheat, timothy grass, orchards, and vineyards irrigated from the Grand Coulee Dam, and a major data-center industry that grew after technology companies built large facilities there, attracted by abundant cheap hydroelectricity. Housing values in the area are well below the state median and below the national median as well. The town is compact, with a traditional small downtown along the railroad, and the school appears to sit within the community rather than on an isolated campus. The district has recently opened Ancient Lakes Elementary, adding elementary capacity, and Quincy Innovation Academy Big Picture, which offers a K-12 alternative pathway.
On state assessments, a share of students met the standard in English language arts that is a bit above the midpoint among districts in Grant County. In mathematics, the share meeting the standard is low, and in science it is also low. A parent should look into how the school approaches math and science instruction, and whether there are supports or interventions in place. Because only one year of assessment data is reported here, there is no trend to examine. The graduation rate was not reported, and the reasons are not specified in the data. This is a gap a family will want to clarify with the administration, as the rate is a standard measure of completion for a high school. No discipline, attendance, or chronic absenteeism data were available.
The school does not have an advanced placement, dual credit, career and technical education, or program offerings section included in the data. That matters in high school because these pathways shape what a student can do before graduating. A parent will want to ask directly about what is available in Advanced Placement, Running Start, College in the High School, and CTE courses. The district brief notes that Quincy Innovation Academy Big Picture exists as a different option, which suggests some choice in how a student approaches their high school years.
A parent considering Quincy High School should be comfortable with a large school environment where the student body is primarily Hispanic and many families have lower household incomes. The academic picture on state tests is uneven, with stronger results in English than in math and science. The absence of data on special education, English learner services, discipline, course access, and the graduation rate means a family will need to do some digging. A visit to the school and a conversation with a counselor or principal about the math progression, the range of elective and college-preparatory offerings, and the support structures for students who are not yet at grade level will fill the gaps this data leaves open.
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