Orcas Island Elementary School

I have three kids at this school and there are many great and unique things about it--a thriving Farm to Cafeteria program with a large school garden that the kids love, caring teachers and involved parents, and it is the hub of the community for Orcas Island. The not so great things are the high student to teacher ratio, and the inability of the teachers (due to the system and "teaching to the test") to pull out gifted students for directed teaching. This means that smart kids do not get the opportunity to be challenged, without private tutors. Overall, it is a pretty good option for such a small community, and parents and teachers do care. But it is academically limited.
--Submitted by a parent

This school actually educates kindergarten through 12th grade! The teachers and staff are superb and the kids respond by consistently ranking in the highest percentage in the state! The economic crisis has depleted funds for school, threatening education for our children!

Small classroom sizes, all-day kindergarten, huge community and parent involvement and a caring, dedicated staff support the high achievement scores received by our Orcas Island Elementary School. You would be hard pressed to find a better public elementary school in the US.