Stanton Academy

Stanton Academy is a small public high school in Yakima, Washington, serving grades 9–12 with 183 students. It is part of the Yakima School District, an urban district serving a high-need community. Stanton’s student-teacher ratio is relatively favorable at 13.5:1, and its per-student spending is high at $32,085. However, its 2025–26 statewide ranking was 393rd out of 396 schools, placing it in the 1st percentile with zero stars. Because Stanton is small and serves students in an alternative-school setting, year-to-year results may change significantly and should not be compared with large traditional schools without considering their different missions.

The strongest recent sign is Stanton’s graduation rate, which rose from 35.8% to 54.9% in one year and from 13.4% in 2020–21. Even so, it remains well below the district’s 83.4% and Washington’s 82.6%. Stanton’s 25.4% dropout rate is also a serious concern—higher than the district’s 8.7% and the state’s 9.8%, though lower than the 50.3% reported by Yakima Open Doors. Academic results are also below local and state benchmarks: ELA proficiency was 20.0% and science proficiency was 17.78%. The latest math result was suppressed by the state, so it is unknown and should not be treated as zero.

Compared with nearby programs, Stanton generally trails Yakima Online, which reported 62.8% graduation, a 16.5% dropout rate, 41.76% ELA proficiency, and 36.46% science proficiency. It also trails the much larger Davis High School, which had a 91.4% graduation rate and 3.9% dropout rate, although Davis serves a very different student population. Stanton’s recent graduation improvement is encouraging, but families should look closely at continued progress in graduation, attendance and persistence, dropout reduction, and academic recovery.