Public schools in Tacoma, WA
Tacoma has 92 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 22 high, 16 middle, 52 elementary, 2 other, enrolling 42,494 students. They are run by 8 districts and agencies; Tacoma School District runs 64 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 8 districts and agencies that run Tacoma's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in Tacoma | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma School District | 64 | 28,311 | $19,679 |
| Franklin Pierce School District | 14 | 7,425 | $19,065 |
| Bethel School District 403 | 6 | 21,156 | $15,370 |
| Fife Public Schools | 4 | 3,893 | $17,662 |
| Puyallup School District | 1 | 23,104 | $16,882 |
| Impact | Commencement Bay Elementary | 1 | 326 | $16,509 |
| Summit Public School: Olympus | 1 | 156 | $24,686 |
| Quillayute Valley School District 402 | 1 | 2,473 | $18,540 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: school location city and operating agency; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: district fall membership and current spending per student. Schools on a city's edge can serve students from outside it.
22 high schools in Tacoma, 12,903 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium High School | 1,700 | 23.5 | 28.5% | Tacoma |
| Lincoln High School | 1,556 | 20.5 | 54.2% | Tacoma |
| Mount Tahoma High School | 1,410 | 21.4 | 52.7% | Tacoma |
| Dr. Dolores Silas High School | 1,160 | 23.0 | 30.4% | Tacoma |
| Washington High School | 989 | 17.6 | 59.3% | Franklin Pierce |
| Franklin Pierce High School | 977 | 17.9 | 52.3% | Franklin Pierce |
| Fife High School | 885 | 22.8 | 35.6% | Fife Public Schools |
| Tacoma School of the Arts | 658 | 19.6 | 33.1% | Tacoma |
| Columbia Junior High School | 619 | 20.8 | 42.8% | Fife Public Schools |
| Foss High School | 599 | 19.2 | 58.6% | Tacoma |
The other 12 high schools
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science and Math Institute | 597 | 20.5 | 24.6% | Tacoma |
| Tacoma Online High School | 497 | 15.8 | 55.7% | Tacoma |
| Tacoma Open Doors | 392 | 75.8 | 55.9% | Tacoma |
| Industrial Design Engineering and Arts | 392 | 17.6 | 32.4% | Tacoma |
| Oakland High School | 112 | 22.4 | 73.2% | Tacoma |
| Summit Public School: Olympus | 110 | 10.0 | 47.3% | Summit Public School: Olympus |
| Gates Secondary School | 104 | 7.6 | 68.3% | Franklin Pierce |
| Comm Based Trans Program | 71 | 17.8 | 36.6% | Tacoma |
| Fife Open Doors | 25 | not reported | 68.0% | Fife Public Schools |
| Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center | 21 | 21.0 | 19.0% | Tacoma |
| The School at Pearl Youth Residence | 21 | not reported | 23.8% | Tacoma |
| Insight School of WA Open Doors Program | 8 | not reported | not reported | Quillayute Valley |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
16 middle schools in Tacoma, 8,564 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morris Ford Middle School | 831 | 18.1 | 54.6% | Franklin Pierce |
| Perry G Keithley Middle School | 804 | 17.9 | 60.1% | Franklin Pierce |
| Spanaway Middle School | 766 | 22.5 | 55.0% | Bethel |
| Baker Middle School | 687 | 20.0 | 57.9% | Tacoma |
| Stewart Middle School | 650 | 19.7 | 52.3% | Tacoma |
| Mason Middle School | 639 | 20.7 | 19.7% | Tacoma |
| First Creek Middle School | 584 | 19.6 | 65.4% | Tacoma |
| Meeker Middle School | 567 | 20.2 | 30.2% | Tacoma |
| Hunt Middle School | 519 | 17.8 | 37.0% | Tacoma |
| Gray Middle School | 510 | 18.3 | 61.2% | Tacoma |
The other 6 middle schools
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angelo Giaudrone Middle School | 449 | 19.7 | 55.2% | Tacoma |
| Hilltop Heritage Middle School | 447 | 20.1 | 54.6% | Tacoma |
| Truman Middle School | 438 | 20.8 | 36.8% | Tacoma |
| Wainwright Intermediate School | 368 | 17.8 | 45.4% | Tacoma |
| Tacoma Online Middle School | 170 | 13.8 | 53.5% | Tacoma |
| Bryant Montessori Middle School | 135 | 6.0 | 36.3% | Tacoma |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
52 elementary schools in Tacoma, 20,752 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fife Elementary School | 866 | 16.7 | 47.9% | Fife Public Schools |
| Chester H Thompson Elementary | 688 | 16.6 | 51.9% | Bethel |
| Clover Creek Elementary | 617 | 15.9 | 39.7% | Bethel |
| Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School | 592 | 17.4 | 44.3% | Bethel |
| Sheridan Elementary School | 525 | 17.6 | 51.0% | Tacoma |
| Geiger Montessori School | 521 | 21.0 | 29.2% | Tacoma |
| Naches Trail Elementary | 519 | 16.5 | 47.8% | Bethel |
| Boze Elementary School | 485 | 17.3 | 53.4% | Tacoma |
| Brookdale Elementary | 483 | 15.1 | 61.1% | Franklin Pierce |
| Birney Elementary School | 476 | 14.4 | 58.0% | Tacoma |
The other 42 elementary schools
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
2 other schools in Tacoma, 275 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Learning Center | 266 | 33.3 | 76.7% | Franklin Pierce |
| Special Services | 9 | not reported | 22.2% | Tacoma |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
How Tacoma's public schools compare with Washington's
The median Tacoma school has 17.6 students per full-time teacher, more than the Washington median of 16.7. 46% of its schools ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, against 37% across the state. Its median school enrolls 416 students (state 391).
| Tacoma | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 17.6 | 16.7 |
| Median school size (students) | 416 | 391 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | 46% | 37% |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 88% | 53% |
| Charter schools | 2.2% | 0.6% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 92 Tacoma schools and the 2,437 Washington schools open that year with students); Title I status CCD 2021-22. Students per teacher counts 2024-25 teachers and ratios from 3 to 99.
What to look at next in Tacoma
- Tacoma School DistrictRuns 64 of Tacoma's 92 public schools and spent $19,679 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$19,679
- Stadium High School, the largest high school in Tacoma1,700 students in 2024-25, 23.5 per teacher.1,700
- Compare Tacoma School District with Franklin Pierce School DistrictTacoma's two largest operators side by side: enrollment, spending and schools.
- The largest public schools in WashingtonWashington's 50 largest schools open in 2024-25, by enrollment.
- Find the school district for a Tacoma addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools and their operating agencies); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student).
Choosing among them: how to choose a school district with the federal data, and what a Title I school is.
Other cities in Washington
Questions about schools in Tacoma
How many public schools are in Tacoma, WA?
92 public schools with an address in Tacoma were open in 2024-25: 22 high, 16 middle, 52 elementary, 2 other, enrolling 42,494 students. 2 are charter schools.What is the largest high school in Tacoma?
Stadium High School, with 1,700 students in 2024-25 (Tacoma School District).Which districts run Tacoma's schools?
Tacoma School District (64 schools), Franklin Pierce School District (14 schools), Bethel School District 403 (6 schools), Fife Public Schools (4 schools), and 4 more. A school's district, not its city, decides who can enroll.
These figures are for information and are not a substitute for the district's enrollment office, which confirms the school a home is assigned to.
Sources
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Public school search (the official record of each school) · 2024-25