Schools in Zip Code 98516

Schools in ZIP code 98516 include seven public schools serving grades PK–12 in the North Thurston Public Schools district, with traditional elementary, middle, high, career, family-learning, and virtual options. Together, the schools enroll approximately 3,196 students. The district ranks around the middle of Washington districts, while school performance varies considerably by grade level and program type.

Pleasant Glade Elementary is the strongest balanced performer, with 2025–26 proficiency above district and state results in English language arts, math, and science. It also improved substantially in all three subjects and ranks in the 72nd statewide percentile. Olympic View Elementary remains a solid option, particularly in math, but its latest ELA results declined notably. Ignite Family Academy posted the area’s highest ELA result, although its math performance was more moderate, its enrollment is small, and its latest statewide ranking is unavailable. At the middle-school level, Chinook Middle School slightly outperformed Salish Middle School in ELA and math, while Salish was clearly stronger in science.

The most consistent area-wide concern is the drop in math performance between elementary and middle school; both middle schools had math proficiency near one-third of students. Envision Career Academy shows the strongest recent ranking improvement and encouraging ELA and science results, though its math score is unavailable. Summit Virtual Academy serves a distinct alternative, virtual-school population and has substantially lower proficiency and graduation results, along with a higher dropout rate. Parents should therefore compare schools by program model, grade level, available data, and specific academic strengths rather than relying on a single overall ranking.