Washington Elementary School, Wenatchee WA

Original Research by School Decision on Washington Elementary School

Washington Elementary is a regular public school in Wenatchee serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Wenatchee School District and sits in a city that defines itself by the tree fruit industry. Wenatchee is the county seat of Chelan County and the principal city of the Wenatchee-East Wenatchee metro area, a regional hub where orchards still surround the urban core. The city has seen real estate appreciation and employment growth that have drawn national attention, and a downtown anchored by Memorial Park and the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center gives the town a clear civic center. The school itself is located on Washington Street in the city, serving a neighborhood near the downtown area.

The enrollment at Washington Elementary is substantial for an elementary school, drawing from the surrounding community. The student body is diverse, with a large share of students who are white and a large share who are Hispanic, the two largest racial and ethnic groups. A meaningful portion of the student population is also multiracial or Asian, while smaller shares identify as Black or American Indian or Alaska Native. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a signal that the school serves a population with a range of economic circumstances. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status was not provided, which is a gap a parent may want to clarify with the school.

On the state tests administered in 2024-25, Washington Elementary’s results present a mixed picture. In English language arts, the share of students meeting proficiency hovered around half across grades three, four, and five, a level that is above the midpoint when compared against other schools in Chelan County schools overall. In math, the pattern was more uneven. Third and fourth graders performed at a similar level, around half proficient, but fifth-grade math proficiency dropped substantially. In science, assessed at fifth grade, about half of students met the benchmark. The school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among districts in Chelan County. The single year of data available makes it impossible to see whether these results represent an improving or declining trend.

A parent considering Washington Elementary should understand that the school is a neighborhood elementary in a growing regional city. The academic performance is in a middle range relative to other schools in the county, with a notable soft spot in upper elementary math that may warrant a conversation with the school about what supports are in place. The student body is economically diverse, and the school’s location in Wenatchee places families within a community that has a strong agricultural identity, a historic downtown, and ongoing growth pressure that the district is responding to with a proposed major bond to replace most of Wenatchee High School and improve air quality district-wide. That bond, still in the study and preparation phase, indicates a district investing in its facilities. Washington Elementary itself sits in this larger context: a solid, middle-ground elementary school in a city that is both rooted in its orchard history and looking at a forward-looking capital plan.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 47% · ▲ 5 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 37% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 30% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 44% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 44% · ▲ 5 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 47% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 46% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolWenatchee 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-income34%Higher-income79%45 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income74%43 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income74%39 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income29%Higher-income84%56 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income72%31 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income19%Higher-income46%27 pp gap