Education in Spokane, Washington facts for kids

The Spokane Public Library and Spokane County Library District system provide the Spokane area with access to information and study space. Secondary education is provided by Spokane Public Schools with its six high schools, six middle schools, and thirty-four elementary schools. Public charter, private, and parochial schools offer more choices of study. Higher education in Spokane is served by the Community Colleges of Spokane system (Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College) and two private universities, Gonzaga University and Whitworth University as well as various trade and technical schools. The University District in Downtown Spokane is also host to branch locations of regional universities such as Washington State University Spokane and its medical school, the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total school enrollment in Spokane was 54,830 in 2011. Nursery school and kindergarten enrollment was 5,484 and elementary or high school enrollment was 30,548 children. College or graduate school enrollment was 18,798. As of 2011, 91.6 percent of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 29.2 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher.

Elementary and secondary education

Public school system

Lewis and Clark High School

Spokane Public Schools (District No. 81) was organized in 1889, and is the largest public school system in Spokane, and the second-largest in the state, as of 2014, serving roughly 30,000 students in six high schools, six middle schools, and thirty-four elementary schools. Within Spokane Public Schools, there are two Washington State Charter School commission approved independent charter schools to provide alternative choices to traditional high schools, these are Innovation High School in the independent PRIDE Schools district and the Spokane International Academy.

In north Spokane, there is the Mead School District No. 354 which has two traditional high schools, Mead High School and Mt. Spokane High School. Other major public school districts in the Spokane area include the Central Valley School District (which contains Central Valley High School, University High School, and Ridgeline High School), West Valley School District (West Valley High School), and East Valley School District (East Valley High School) in Spokane Valley. Smaller districts in the surrounding area include the Cheney School District (Cheney High School), Deer Park School District (Deer Park High School), Freeman School District (Freeman High School), Liberty School District (Liberty High School), Medical Lake School District (Medical Lake High School), Nine Mile Falls School District (Lakeside High School), Orchard Prairie School District, and Riverside School District (Riverside High School).

Spokane area public high schools

Note:

• This is not an exhaustive list. This is a selective list that is intended to focus on public high schools in school districts that have a presence in the city of Spokane and may include other major districts or high schools in the Spokane metropolitan area (Spokane County).
• Enrollment figures as of April 2021.

Private education

Upper Columbia Academy in Spangle

A variety of private and parochial elementary and secondary schools augment the public school system. Among the parochial schools, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane manages ten such schools in and around the area, among them being Gonzaga Preparatory School. Other parochial schools in the Spokane metro area include the Upper Columbia Academy to the south in Spangle, a boarding high school offering a Seventh-day Adventist education and the Northwest Christian School to the north in Colbert, a non-denominational Kindergarten-12th grade school. The Saint George's School in north Spokane is one of the only K-12 independent secular private preparatory schools in Spokane and offers an International Baccalaureate program of study.

There are schools that exist to meet special needs and those that offer specialist education, such as Montessori schools, or an emphasis on a particular part of the curriculum. Private schools are subject to a state approval process. Examples include the Lilac Blind Foundation, Spokane Guild's School and Neuromuscular Center, and the Spokane Art School.

The Salish School of Spokane is a language preservation school that serves the Native American community of various tribal backgrounds and ancestry with language and cultural immersion experiences to increase intergenerational transmission of the endangered Salish language family in addition to traditional mentoring and academic support. The school offers a K-6 grade curriculum and plans to offer a secondary education.

Spokane area private secondary schools

Note:

• This is not an exhaustive list. This is a selective list that intends to include private schools that provide instruction in part or fully for the high school grade levels 9-12 that are in the Spokane metropolitan area (Spokane County).
• Enrollment figures as of April 2021.

Private education

The area has a number of private elementary and secondary schools. These include parochial schools, schools that meet special needs and those that offer specialist education, such as Montessori schools, or an emphasis on a particular part of the curriculum. Private schools are subject to a state approval process. Examples include the Lilac Blind Foundation, Spokane Guild's School and Neuromuscular Center, the Spokane Art School and St. Thomas More Catholic School.

Libraries

Spokane Public Library

Residents of Spokane are served by the Spokane Public Library, which comprises a Downtown Library overlooking Spokane Falls and 6 branches throughout the city; in addition, the Spokane County Library District operates 10 branches throughout Spokane County. The Spokane Public Library system was founded in 1904 with funding from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie; the first downtown library building, The Carnegie Building, still stands 5 blocks from the current Downtown library and bears his namesake. Special collections include Northwest history, genealogy, Washington state, and Spokane County government documents.

Images for kids

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  Spokane Public Library - Central branch

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  St. Aloysius Church at Gonzaga University

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  Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library at Whitworth University

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  The WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus, located in the University District