Summary:
ZIP code 98109 has one public high school, The Center School, serving grades 9–12 in the central Seattle area. The school enrolls 165 students, making it a small high school with a 13.9-to-1 student–teacher ratio. It is part of Seattle School District No. 1, which ranks 45th among 238 Washington districts. Since there is only one high school in the ZIP code, families are evaluating this school rather than choosing among several local public high schools.
The Center School has been a strong statewide performer, ranking 28th out of 396 schools and in the 93rd percentile in 2025–2026. Science is its clearest academic strength: 76.92% of students were proficient, compared with 65.01% in the district and 50.95% statewide. Math is more mixed. Proficiency improved substantially from 31.82% to 51.35% in one year and exceeded the state rate of 43.11%, but it remained below the district rate of 60.24%. The school’s 2025–2026 English language arts result is suppressed, so it cannot be fairly compared; in 2024–2025, ELA proficiency was a strong 82.76%.
The 2024–2025 graduation rate was 86.0%, nearly identical to the district’s 86.1% and above the statewide rate of 82.6%. The school also reported $29,206 in per-student spending in 2023–2024 and 14.55% free- or reduced-price lunch participation. Parents should keep the school’s small enrollment in mind: results can change noticeably from year to year when a relatively small number of students affect the percentages. Overall, The Center School appears to offer strong overall performance, exceptional science results, improving math outcomes, and solid graduation results, with mathematics the most evident area for continued improvement.
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