Best High Schools in Zip Code 98332

Zip code 98332 covers Gig Harbor, Washington, and contains two high schools serving grades 9–12, both in the Peninsula School District: the large comprehensive Peninsula High School with 1,345 students, and the much smaller alternative school Henderson Bay Alt High School with 139 students. Together they enroll about 1,484 high schoolers, with Peninsula accounting for roughly 90.6% of that total. The district itself is high-performing, ranked 18th of 238 districts in Washington at the 92nd percentile with 5 stars.

Peninsula High School is the academic standout and is improving. Its statewide rank rose from 112th of 437 to 92nd of 438 to 62nd of 396, and its percentile climbed from 74 to 79 to 84 while holding 4 stars. In 2025–26, 10th-grade ELA proficiency was 77.99%, above the district's 76.60% and far above the state's 64.41%, and 11th-grade science was 58.66%, essentially matching the district and 9.88 points above the state. Its graduation rate of 88.1% beats the state's 82.6%, and its dropout rate of 7.8% is below the state's 9.8%. Math is its relative weak spot: 10th-grade math was 41.45%, above the state's 35.42% but below the district's 44.23%.

Henderson Bay Alt High School has a very different profile. It serves a higher-need population, with 43.17% free/reduced lunch versus Peninsula's 26.1%, spends far more per student ($28,726 versus $16,933), and has a much lower student-teacher ratio (13.9 versus 21.1). Yet its outcomes trail: it ranked 245th of 396 in 2025–26 with 2 stars and a 38th percentile, and its grade-level proficiency fell below the state in all three subjects — ELA 42.11% vs. 64.41%, math 33.33% vs. 35.42%, and science 42.31% vs. 48.78%. Its graduation rate of 81.1% is below the state's 82.6% and its dropout rate of 11.3% is above the state's 9.8%. All-grades ELA dropped from 56.00% to 42.11% and science from 50.00% to 42.31%; both were slightly above the state in 2024–25. Because the school is small, year-to-year swings can be volatile, and its alternative model serves students with different needs — so direct comparisons warrant caution. The two schools show how much variation can exist within one highly rated district.