Jefferson Elementary School

Our son is a special needs in the preschool program. This program has been a Godsend for him. He loves to go to school and loves his teachers. Our only experience is with the preschool special education program so I cannot attest to the rest of the school.
—Submitted by a parent

Posted January 23, 2013

My son is a special needs child and while we believe his classroom teacher is very helpful and caring person we can't say the same about the principal or the "specials" teachers. This is the 2nd year for the principal at the school and we feel she is doing a very poor job. She doesn't respect the parents concerns and does things the way she wants even when asked not to and with total disregard for the best interest of the child. We felt we needed to contact the assistant superintendent who agreed with our position and spoke to the principal on our behalf and now we feel our child has been targeted by the principal.This is very scary as our son is often unable to tell us what happened due to his low cognitive function. We have also had difficulties with the "specials" teachers, they seem to lack the knowledge or training on how to deal with special needs children. We even recevied a letter from one (an Art teacher) giving us suggestions on how to parent a special needs child and letting us know how hard they work and how lucky we are to have them as teachers. So in summary if you have a special needs child this is not the school for you.
—Submitted by a parent

Posted August 8, 2010

When my daughter attended the teacher was inflexible in her lessons and wouldn't adapt to my daughter's higher level of learning. We came in from out of state and it was a shock with regard to how "old school" the teaching methods were and the principal leadership lacked teeth.
—Submitted by a parent

Posted February 7, 2007

As a former student who also did a teaching internship and now a parent of a Jefferson student I can attest to the quality of education, but most importantly the loving and caring teaching staff at the school. Jefferson is a tight knit school that values its diversity. There are many long time teachers who are highly tenured. Despite the push from the so-called educational experts about what to teach our children, these gifted teachers are able to balance their time to teach what is expected of them by administrators and what our children need to be taught. The school core values align with what I believe in.
—Submitted by Neil Asmund, a parent

Posted June 6, 2005

Good school, good teachers, good academics.
—Submitted by a staff

Posted August 31, 2003

Jefferson Elementary school is a very 'involved' school. It is obvious that the teachers care a great deal about each student. They will go the extra mile to help a special needs child...even giving their home phone numbers in case a parent has a problem or concern. The principal is very active with the kids as well. He knows most (if not all) of the kids' names and he interacts with them in a very positive way. He'll go on the play ground at recesses and play basketball or just talk with the kids. I drive school bus for the school district (and this school in particular) and hear the comments - they all love the principal and sometimes debate back and forth who has the best teacher. The academics are well taught. My children have done well in school because of the instruction they have received by these very experienced teachers. The intramural sports and orchestra that is offered to the students are great. These are just a few of the reasons that Jefferson Elementary is a Blue Ribbon winning school.
—Submitted by a parent

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About these ratings

The Community Rating is the school’s average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.

Test scores
Ratings details

See results for:

The test results by subgroup show how the designated group of students is performing in comparison to the general population.

Grade level

Math

The state average for Math was 65% in 2012.

67 students were tested at this school in 2012.

Reading

The state average for Reading was 69% in 2012.

67 students were tested at this school in 2012.

Scale: % basic, level 3, or level 4

About the tests

In 2011-2012 Washington used the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) to test students in reading and math in grades 3 through 8, in writing in grades 4 and 7, and in science in grades 5 and 8. The MSP is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Washington. The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard.

Source: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Math

The state average for Math was 59% in 2012.

70 students were tested at this school in 2012.

Reading

The state average for Reading was 71% in 2012.

70 students were tested at this school in 2012.

Writing

The state average for Writing was 61% in 2012.

64 students were tested at this school in 2012.

Scale: % basic, level 3, or level 4

About the tests

Source: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Math

The state average for Math was 64% in 2012.

82 students were tested at this school in 2012.

Reading

The state average for Reading was 71% in 2012.

82 students were tested at this school in 2012.

Science

The state average for Science was 66% in 2012.

82 students were tested at this school in 2012.

Scale: % basic, level 3, or level 4

About the tests

Source: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Math

All Students	42%
Female	44%
Male	39%
Black	n/a
Asian	n/a
Asian/Pacific Islander	n/a
Hispanic	22%
Native American	n/a
Pacific Islander	n/a
White	54%
Low income	34%
Not low income	60%
Special education	7%
Not special education	51%
Limited English	n/a
Migrant	n/a

Reading

All Students	49%
Female	56%
Male	42%
Black	n/a
Asian	n/a
Asian/Pacific Islander	n/a
Hispanic	39%
Native American	n/a
Pacific Islander	n/a
White	54%
Low income	40%
Not low income	70%
Special education	14%
Not special education	59%
Limited English	n/a
Migrant	n/a

Scale: % basic, level 3, or level 4

About the tests

The different student groups are identified by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. If there are fewer than 10 students in a particular group in a school, the state doesn't report data for that group.

Source: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Math

All Students	44%
Female	46%
Male	43%
Black	n/a
Asian	n/a
Asian/Pacific Islander	n/a
Hispanic	0%
Native American	n/a
Pacific Islander	n/a
White	51%
Low income	28%
Not low income	62%
Special education	6%
Not special education	56%
Limited English	n/a
Migrant	n/a

Reading

All Students	63%
Female	70%
Male	57%
Black	n/a
Asian	n/a
Asian/Pacific Islander	n/a
Hispanic	31%
Native American	n/a
Pacific Islander	n/a
White	70%
Low income	44%
Not low income	82%
Special education	31%
Not special education	72%
Limited English	n/a
Migrant	n/a

Writing

All Students	49%
Female	61%
Male	39%
Black	n/a
Asian	n/a
Asian/Pacific Islander	n/a
Hispanic	31%
Native American	n/a
Pacific Islander	n/a
White	52%
Low income	33%
Not low income	67%
Special education	19%
Not special education	58%
Limited English	n/a
Migrant	n/a

Scale: % basic, level 3, or level 4

About the tests

Source: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Math

All Students	60%
Female	55%
Male	66%
Black	n/a
Asian	n/a
Asian/Pacific Islander	n/a
Hispanic	31%
Native American	n/a
Pacific Islander	n/a
White	68%
Low income	47%
Not low income	81%
Special education	17%
Not special education	67%
Limited English	n/a
Migrant	n/a

Reading

All Students	73%
Female	75%
Male	71%
Black	n/a
Asian	n/a
Asian/Pacific Islander	n/a
Hispanic	54%
Native American	n/a
Pacific Islander	n/a
White	78%
Low income	67%
Not low income	84%
Special education	42%
Not special education	79%
Limited English	n/a
Migrant	n/a

Science

All Students	71%
Female	75%
Male	66%
Black	n/a
Asian	n/a
Asian/Pacific Islander	n/a
Hispanic	31%
Native American	n/a
Pacific Islander	n/a
White	79%
Low income	59%
Not low income	90%
Special education	25%
Not special education	79%
Limited English	n/a
Migrant	n/a

Scale: % basic, level 3, or level 4

About the tests