Is Helen Stafford Elementary School a good school?

Helen Stafford Elementary School ranks in the bottom 13.4% of Washington elementary schools.

How many students attend Helen Stafford Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 432 students attended Helen Stafford Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Helen Stafford Elementary School?

Students at Helen Stafford Elementary School are 26% Hispanic, 22% Asian, 16% White, 16% African American, 14% Two or more races, 6% Pacific Islander.

What schools do graduates of Helen Stafford Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Helen Stafford Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Baker Middle School High : Mount Tahoma High School

Helen Stafford Elementary School

Summary:

Helen Stafford Elementary School is a public elementary school in Tacoma, Washington, serving students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade as part of the Tacoma School District. The school faces significant academic challenges, with consistently low test scores, poor statewide rankings, and underperformance among various student subgroups.

Helen Stafford Elementary has a diverse student population, with a significant representation of minority groups, including 26.16% Hispanic, 22.39% Asian, and 14.19% African American students. However, the school's academic performance lags behind the district and state averages. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 31.12% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 45.84% in the Tacoma School District and 52.63% statewide. Similarly, only 27.18% of students were proficient or better in Math, compared to 31.55% in the district and 41.68% statewide. The school's performance is particularly low among Asian, African American, and low socioeconomic status students, ranking in the bottom 15% of Washington elementary schools for these subgroups.

While Helen Stafford Elementary faces significant challenges, some nearby schools within the Tacoma School District, such as Fern Hill Elementary and Larchmont Elementary, are performing better academically. These schools have higher test scores and better overall rankings compared to Helen Stafford. However, the school's diverse student population and past success with English Language Learners (ELL) could be leveraged as strengths, suggesting potential opportunities for improvement if the school can address the socioeconomic factors and learning gaps that contribute to its underperformance.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

1615 South 92nd St
Tacoma, WA 98444

(253) 571-4300

District: Tacoma School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1011^th of 1,168 Washington Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $19,045

Students who attend Helen Stafford Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Baker Middle School
High:	Mount Tahoma High School

Student/teacher ratio: 17.2

Number of students: 432

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

25.7%

Asian:

21.8%

White:

16.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 79.4%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Helen Stafford Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Helen Stafford Elementary School ranks worse than 86.6% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks 28^th among 35 ranked elementary schools in the Tacoma School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 17.01. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Helen Stafford Elementary School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (25.7%), Asian (21.8%), White (16.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 79.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Helen Stafford Elementary School is 17.2. 27 elementary schools in the Tacoma School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Helen Stafford Elementary School employs 25 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Helen Stafford Elementary School is $19,045. 28 elementary schools in the Tacoma School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Helen Stafford Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Helen Stafford Elementary School 1011^th of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Helen Stafford Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Tacoma School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Tacoma School District 152^nd of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Helen Stafford Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2009	20.51	912^th	1072	14.9%
2010	35.45	758^th	1088	30.3%
2011	33.70	797^th	1092	27.0%
2012	43.39	670^th	1097	38.9%
2013	57.83	479^th	1106	56.7%
2015	48.70	553^rd	1067	48.2%
2016	48.88	549^th	1053	47.9%
2017	45.66	585^th	1056	44.6%
2018	32.50	732^nd	1054	30.6%
2019	38.37	716^th	1130	36.6%
2021	10.48	1030^th	1107	7.0%
2022	14.69	1033^rd	1169	11.6%
2023	16.38	1027^th	1169	12.1%
2024	17.01	1011^th	1168	13.4%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	39.35	205^th	303	32.3%
2023	37.96	124^th	194	36.1%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	64.07	59^th	333	82.3%
2019	62.22	45^th	248	81.9%
2024	33.81	208^th	320	35.0%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	33.84	437^th	637	31.4%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	49.08	440^th	835	47.3%
2019	57.61	405^th	979	58.6%
2022	17.99	923^rd	1019	9.4%
2023	22.49	872^nd	1013	13.9%
2024	28.30	784^th	1024	23.4%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	26.98	776^th	1004	22.7%
2019	30.04	802^nd	1068	24.9%
2021	8.24	982^nd	1008	2.6%
2022	13.21	1007^th	1100	8.5%
2023	13.56	996^th	1094	9.0%
2024	15.46	966^th	1093	11.6%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	40.47	600^th	999	39.9%
2019	47.00	583^rd	1075	45.8%
2021	12.01	952^nd	1025	7.1%
2022	16.66	973^rd	1113	12.6%
2023	22.92	880^th	1099	19.9%
2024	18.18	954^th	1099	13.2%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	19.76	151^st	169	10.7%
2019	36.30	136^th	201	32.3%
2021	10.86	120^th	131	8.4%
2022	13.55	173^rd	187	7.5%
2023	8.92	162^nd	170	4.7%
2024	20.14	137^th	163	16.0%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	41.42	60^th	107	43.9%
2019	68.70	24^th	110	78.2%
2022	21.82	100^th	108	7.4%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	61.07	186^th	540	65.6%
2019	58.22	259^th	697	62.8%
2022	21.81	603^rd	694	13.1%
2024	37.12	434^th	651	33.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Helen Stafford Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	40.62	519^th	833	37.7%
2019	39.21	690^th	1027	32.8%
2021	14.58	851^st	943	9.8%
2022	11.07	983^rd	1031	4.7%
2023	43.10	570^th	1011	43.6%
2024	27.94	768^th	1009	23.9%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:
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Enrollment information for Helen Stafford Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2007	86	89	110	55	2	n/a	n/a	342
2008	110	106	130	76	3	n/a	n/a	425
2009	96	115	143	93	7	n/a	n/a	454
2010	95	96	137	94	2	n/a	n/a	424
2011	90	78	120	99	1	20	10	418
2012	95	67	139	113	1	12	25	452
2013	74	59	133	125	4	10	51	456
2014	88	60	134	142	1	18	54	497
2015	93	51	137	139	2	31	66	519
2016	96	68	121	138	5	21	69	518
2017	95	72	114	137	4	23	68	513
2018	95	69	108	142	9	29	65	517
2019	109	55	118	151	10	28	63	534
2020	95	68	102	139	12	43	77	536
2021	82	70	87	120	7	33	61	460
2022	78	67	84	106	3	23	63	424
2023	78	64	101	118	3	33	54	451
2024	70	67	94	111	2	28	60	432

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Helen Stafford Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2007	342	16.3	21.0	n/a
2008	425	20.3	20.9	65.2
2009	454	20.3	22.4	72.9
2010	424	25.7	16.4	75.2
2011	418	24.9	16.7	62
2012	452	24.2	18.6	51.8
2013	456	25.2	18.0	77
2014	497	n/a	n/a	75.9
2015	519	33.0	15.7	78.2
2016	518	30.0	17.2	78
2017	513	30.8	16.6	74.9
2018	517	30.7	16.8	73.5
2019	534	30.4	17.5	65.5
2020	536	30.0	17.8	69.4
2021	460	26.5	17.3	75
2022	424	26.9	15.7	n/a
2023	451	27.8	16.1	70.7
2024	432	25.0	17.2	79.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Helen Stafford Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2007	342	16.3	21.0	n/a
2008	425	20.3	20.9	65.2
2009	454	20.3	22.4	72.9
2010	424	25.7	16.4	75.2
2011	418	24.9	16.7	62
2012	452	24.2	18.6	51.8
2013	456	25.2	18.0	77
2014	497	n/a	n/a	75.9
2015	519	33.0	15.7	78.2
2016	518	30.0	17.2	78
2017	513	30.8	16.6	74.9
2018	517	30.7	16.8	73.5
2019	534	30.4	17.5	65.5
2020	536	30.0	17.8	69.4
2021	460	26.5	17.3	75
2022	424	26.9	15.7	n/a
2023	451	27.8	16.1	70.7
2024	432	25.0	17.2	79.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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