Data-Driven Education Journalism for the Evergreen State
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After 35 years in Washington education and more than two decades in Enumclaw, Jill Burnes steps into the superintendent role as the district hits record enrollment and builds a $65M school.
Nine Washington districts report enrollment growth over 200%, but the students are virtual, the operators are for-profit, and the classrooms are empty.
Washington's Native American student count fell from 24,768 to 12,622 in 16 years. A reclassification explains part of the drop, but not the decline since.
Section 504 disability accommodations quadrupled since 2010, but affluent districts identify students at six times the rate of high-poverty peers.
More Washington school districts sit at record-low enrollment than in any year since 2010, erasing three years of post-COVID recovery.
Lake Washington grew 30% since 2010, climbing from 6th to 2nd largest in Washington. Asian students now outnumber white in a district reshaped by tech.
Washington, one of few states tracking nonbinary students, saw Gender X enrollment surge from 77 to nearly 5,000 before declining two years running.
Washington's student who is currently homeless count tripled to 43,542 over 15 years before a suspicious 28% drop in 2026 that may reflect funding cuts, not improvement.
Only 117 of 316 Washington school districts have recovered to pre-COVID enrollment levels. In 2026, even the recovery stalled.
Pasco and Richland both grew 30% since 2010 while most of Washington lost students. Then all three Tri-Cities districts declined in the same year.
White enrollment in Washington fell every year since 2010, a decline larger than Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma combined. The pandemic doubled the pace.
Washington's English learner population nearly doubled in 16 years to 159,472. The growth reshaped suburban districts and agricultural communities alike.
Washington kindergarten enrollment fell 13,609 from its 2020 peak while Grade 12 hit a record 98,754. The pipeline inversion signals decline through 2032.
Seattle added 9,000 students over a decade, then lost 5,153 since 2020. A shrinking kindergarten pipeline and $87M budget gap signal structural decline.
After three years of post-COVID recovery, Washington's K-12 enrollment reversed course in 2025-26, dropping by the most since the pandemic year itself.
