Schools · Bellingham
Bellingham, WA schools
Bellingham’s public schools score above Washington’s averages: 63% of students are proficient in reading against 61% statewide, and 78% of high schoolers graduate on time against 83%. Kids attend one of 11 elementary schools through grade 5, then Kulshan Middle School.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
B
Bellingham’s School Grade: B
The public schools Bellingham’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 55% of Washington’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.
BTest scoresC-Graduation
Washington school districts we grade (291)Better than 55%
Lower resultsHigher results
Washington towns with similar household incomes (216)Better than 60%
High confidence. Built on 5,958 tested students and a graduating class of 965; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Washington’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2018–19; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Washington only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Washington with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where Bellingham kids go to school
Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2018–19
Above the state in reading
Reading (grades PK–8, Bellingham School District)63%
State average 61%
Math (grades PK–8, Bellingham School District)47%
State average 50.3%
Graduation · class of 2020
78% graduate on time
Graduation rate
78%
WA: 83%
Graduating class
965
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #209 of 254 WA towns →
Districts
The district serving Bellingham
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Colleges
Bellingham is home to 3 colleges
Western Washington UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Bellingham14,432on campusWhatcom Community CollegeUniversity or college · Public · Bellingham2,256on campusBellingham Technical CollegeUniversity or college · Public · Bellingham1,454on campus
All 3 colleges in Bellingham →Every school
All 37 schools in Bellingham
Showing 1–30 of 37 schools
Happy Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 455 students
PublicParkview Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 422 students
PublicNorthern Heights Elementary SchlElementary · Grades PK–5 · 396 students
PublicCordata Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 357 students
PublicSilver Beach Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 357 students
PublicRoosevelt Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 348 students
PublicLowell Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 338 students
PublicBirchwood Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 335 students
PublicCarl Cozier Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 325 students
PublicSunnyland Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 288 students
PublicColumbia Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 187 students
PublicFranklin AcademyElementary · Grades PK–8 · 396 students
PrivateThe Franklin AcademyElementary · Grades PK–8 · 396 students
PrivateAssumption Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 256 students
PrivateMontessori at Samish WoodsElementary · Grades PK–6 · 77 students
PrivateCedar Tree MontessoriElementary · Grades PK–6 · 73 students
PrivateBlue Heron Montessori SchoolElementary · Grades PK–K · 42 students
PrivateThe Robert Williams School of Arts SciencesElementary · Grades K–5 · 23 students
PrivateWhatcom Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 637 students
PublicShuksan Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 606 students
PublicFairhaven Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 588 students
PublicKulshan Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 575 students
PublicSqualicum High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,273 students
PublicBellingham High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,165 students
PublicSehome High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,116 students
PublicOptions High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 176 students
PublicBellingham Re-Engagement ProgramHigh · Grades 9–12 · 110 students
PublicIntergenerational High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 107 students
CharterMeridian Impact Re-EngagementHigh · Grades 9–12 · 21 students
PublicBlaine Re-EngagementHigh · Grades 10–12 · 14 students
PublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.