The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in English language arts. The lowest is 21% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Ancient Lakes Elementary
Ancient Lakes Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Quincy, Washington, as part of the Quincy School District. It is a regular public school that opened as a new elementary school, adding classroom capacity for the district. The school sits in a small, compact city that blends a long agricultural heritage—potatoes, wheat, orchards, vineyards—with a major data-center industry built on cheap hydroelectric power. The town has grown steadily in recent decades, and the district has responded by expanding its school options: Ancient Lakes Elementary is one such addition, and the district also added the Quincy Innovation Academy Big Picture, an alternative pathway school spanning K-12.
The student body at Ancient Lakes is predominantly Hispanic or Latino, with a much smaller white population and tiny shares of other racial groups. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty school environment. The community itself is young and family-oriented, and the town’s economy is split between agriculture and technology employers like Microsoft, Yahoo, and Dell, which have located large data centers in the area. Housing values in Quincy are moderately below the state benchmark but above the national average, and the local market has seen modest appreciation.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, Ancient Lakes Elementary’s students posted proficiency rates that sit below the midpoint among the nine districts in Grant County. In math, the share of students meeting the state standard was modest across grades three, four, and five, with the highest rate in fourth grade and the lowest in fifth. In English language arts, proficiency was higher in fifth grade than in third or fourth, but still represented a minority of students. On the fifth-grade science assessment, just over a quarter of students met the standard. These results come from a single year of data, so no trend is available yet; a parent may want to ask the school how it plans to improve academic outcomes, since the school is new and may still be settling into its instructional approach.
Because Ancient Lakes is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and on special populations such as students with disabilities or English learners were not provided. The school’s civil-rights and discipline data were also absent from the profile. These gaps may reflect reporting limitations rather than a lack of programming, but a family with a child who receives special education or English-learner services would want to confirm directly with the school what supports are available.
The Quincy School District, which oversees Ancient Lakes, has been expanding its facilities and program options. The addition of this elementary school suggests the district is investing in infrastructure to accommodate population growth driven by both the data-center industry and ongoing agricultural development in the Quincy Valley. The town’s growth has also spurred new electrical substations and tax incentives for technology companies, which may continue to shape the local economy and school enrollment.
For a family considering this school, the picture is mixed. Ancient Lakes is a new building in a growing district with a high-poverty student population and test results that are below the county average. The elementary-only grade band means that students will transition to a middle school and high school within the same district later—a factor that matters for families who want continuity. The community itself is tight-knit and rooted in agriculture and tech, with nearby outdoor recreation at the Columbia River, Quincy Lake, and the Gorge Amphitheatre. A parent looking for strong academic results on state measures may want to investigate what interventions or programs the school offers and how it supports students who are behind grade level, especially in math and reading, where proficiency rates are low.
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