Summary:
ZIP code 98241 has one listed elementary school: Darrington Elementary School in Darrington. Unlike a typical elementary school, it serves students from prekindergarten through 8th grade, with 351 students and a 15.3-to-1 student–teacher ratio. The school is part of the Darrington School District. About 61.82% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–25, providing important context about the community’s economic needs. Per-student spending was $19,628 in 2023–24.
Academic results are below Washington averages in all reported subjects, although the school is generally close to district results in math. In 2025–26, proficiency was 22.28% in English Language Arts, 20.97% in math, and 32.69% in science. Math was nearly identical to the district average of 21.10%, while science and ELA trailed district results by 9.20 and 4.11 percentage points, respectively. Science is the clearest bright spot: it improved from 27.14% the previous year, and it is now the school’s strongest subject. Fifth grade was the strongest grade in both ELA and math, with 33.33% proficiency in each subject. Fifth-grade math was especially encouraging because it was less than 10 percentage points below the state average.
Parents may want to pay particular attention to fourth-grade ELA and sixth-grade math, which were the school’s weakest grade-level results at 13.33% and 13.89%. ELA declined by 5.31 percentage points year over year, while math declined by 2.56 points, so these areas may require additional support. The school’s statewide ranking improved from the 6th percentile in 2024–25 to the 9th percentile in 2025–26, but it remains among the lower-ranked schools in Washington. Because this is the only listed school in the ZIP code, families cannot compare nearby schools within 98241 using these data; instead, the main considerations are the school’s broad PK–8 grade span, small-to-moderate enrollment, improving science performance, and need for stronger results in ELA and math.
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