Elementary school (grades K-5) · Pasco, WA

Whittier Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Whittier Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 530657002621
0/100100/10056/100
👥 S:T ratio
40
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
24
📋 Attendance
89
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Whittier Elementary earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Washington schools.

#2 of 14
public schools in Pasco · Resource Index
56
Resource Index · Higher
15.1:1
students per teacher
87.8%
free-lunch eligible

Whittier Elementary has class sizes near the Washington median. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Whittier Elementary ranks #2 of 14 public schools in Pasco, WA.

School address

Enrollment

378

Washington · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

25.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.1:1

vs 17.6:1 Washington avg

-14% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

87.8%

vs 45.0% Washington avg

+95% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Whittier Elementary compares with Washington and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Whittier Elementary

Whittier Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Pasco, Washington, enrolling 378 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 15.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Washington schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 87.8% of students qualify for free meals, 95% above the Washington average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 378 students, its enrollment sits close to the Washington median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,394 scored Washington schools.

Among 131 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Washington schools statewide, it ranks #14, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (93% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 14/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 378 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Attendance holds up well here: only 4.2% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

Its district draws 17.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Pasco's elementary schools, it stands alongside Marie Curie Stem Elementary (376 students): Whittier Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.1:1 vs 15.7:1).

Pasco School District also operates Chiawana Senior High School (3,127 students) and Pasco Senior High School (2,590 students) alongside Whittier Elementary.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Whittier Elementary compares

Whittier Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Washington and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Washington Washington avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 15.1:1 ▼ 14% 17.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 87.8% ▲ 95% 45.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 378 top 52% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

15.1:1
Leaner classes than 46% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
378
Bigger than 44% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
87.8%
free-lunch eligible - 95% above the Washington average of 45.0%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.1:1
students per teacher - 14% below state mean
Top 35% in Washington - lower ratio than 65% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
4.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$16,004
per pupil, district-wide - below Washington avg of $19,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 378 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 92.9%
White 4.2%
Asian 1.9%
African American 0.5%
Two or More 0.5%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 92.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 13.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 13.5, Whittier Elementary is less mixed than the Washington school average of 53.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pasco School District, which includes Whittier Elementary.

$16,004
Per student
-18%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 12.0%
State 70.8%
Federal 17.3%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Whittier Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Chiawana Senior High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Pasco Senior High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Ray Reynolds Middle School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Mcloughlin Middle School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Stevens Middle School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Whittier Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Pasco School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Pasco

3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Washington, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Whittier Elementary's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Whittier Elementary

How many students attend Whittier Elementary?

Whittier Elementary has 378 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Pasco, WA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Whittier Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Whittier Elementary is 15.1:1, which is 14% lower than the Washington average of 17.6:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Whittier Elementary?

87.8% of students at Whittier Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Whittier Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Whittier Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 92.9% of enrollment, in Pasco, WA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Whittier Elementary?

Whittier Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Whittier Elementary rank among public schools in Pasco?

By Resource Investment Index, Whittier Elementary ranks #2 of 14 public schools in Pasco, WA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Pasco on the city page.

Is Whittier Elementary a good school?

Whittier Elementary earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Washington schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Pasco School District?

Besides Whittier Elementary, Pasco School District also operates Chiawana Senior High School (3,127 students), Pasco Senior High School (2,590 students), and Ray Reynolds Middle School (1,294 students). See the Pasco School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.