Port Townsend School District

Port Townsend School District serves about 1,277 students in four schools covering prekindergarten through 12th grade in the Port Townsend area: Salish Coast Elementary, Blue Heron Middle School, Port Townsend High School, and the K–12 alternative school Ocean.

Overall, the district ranks above the midpoint of Washington districts, with its strongest school-level results at Port Townsend High School. The high school ranks in the 85th percentile statewide, graduates 93.1% of students, and has especially strong science performance: 68.49% of students were proficient, compared with 50.95% statewide. Its current math result is more moderate, and its latest English language arts score was suppressed, meaning it is unavailable rather than evidence of low performance. Salish Coast Elementary offers the most balanced academic profile, leading the district in reported math proficiency at 46.37% and posting 63.16% in science. Its math and science results were above state averages, although performance declined somewhat from the previous year.

Blue Heron Middle School has improved in statewide ranking and English language arts, but math remains its clearest challenge: 31.22% of students were proficient, with results falling from 37.65% in sixth grade to 25.35% in eighth grade. Ocean also has low math proficiency at 32%, but it showed the district’s largest year-over-year gains, including a 19.37-point increase in science. Science is the district’s most consistent strength, while math is the main area needing attention. Parents may also want to ask about support during the transitions into middle school, eighth grade, and high school, and remember that suppressed scores are unknown—not zero or necessarily poor.