About
Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Public Schools, the largest K-12 school system in Washington state, has a deep commitment to every student’s journey—to ensure that each student will graduate ready for college, career and life.
- Contact Us
- Continuous School Improvement Plans
- Goals and Guardrails
- Leadership
- Official Notices
- School Board
- School Levies
- School Reports
- Strategic Plan
Our Students Come First
We believe it is essential to place the interests of students above all others in every decision we make. The core work of Seattle Public Schools is supporting student learning. We believe it is our responsibility to do whatever it takes to ensure that every child, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, language proficiency, learning style or disability, achieves to their highest level.
Mission
Seattle Public Schools is committed to eliminating opportunity gaps to ensure access and provide excellence in education for every student.
Vision
Every Seattle Public Schools’ student receives a high-quality, world-class education and graduates prepared for college, career, and community.
Seattle Public Schools Fast Facts 2023-24
Total Enrollment
49,226 students (as of Oct. 1, 2023)
- 23,283 Students in K-5th grade
- 10,648 Students in 6th-8th grade
- 15,295 Students in 9th-12th grade
Educators
6,486 school-based staff
Our teachers have an average of 11 years of teaching experience.
Budget
$1.172 Billion (adopted 2022-23 Budget)
Schools and Grades Offered
Preschool – 12th Grade
104 Schools: Our schools include neighborhood, option, and service schools. While most students attend their neighborhood school, SPS also offers 22 option schools.
63 Elementary
11 K-8 Schools
12 Middle Schools
18 High Schools
88%: 4-year graduation rate
Class of 2023
Student Diversity
Gender
Female 48%
Male 51%
X 1%
Countries of Origin
Race and Ethnicity
Asian 12%
Black 14%
Hispanic 15%
Multi-Race 13%
Native American 1%
Pacific Island 1%
White 46%
Languages or Dialects Spoken at Home
Top 10 Languages
- Spanish
- Somali
- Vietnamese
- Chinese, Cantonese
- Amharic
- Chinese, Mandarin
- Oromo
- Tigrinya
- Japanese
- Arabic
Living our values: Seattle Excellence is about changing broken systems and undoing legacies of racism
At Seattle Public Schools, we are working to dramatically improve academic and life outcomes for students of Color by disrupting the legacies of racism in our educational system.
By actively becoming an anti-racist educational system – and ensuring students furthest away from educational justice thrive – conditions in Seattle Public Schools will improve for all.
Our Foundational Beliefs for Supporting Student Learning
In Seattle Public Schools, we understand that a shared vision of practice is essential to fostering the learning communities that each of our students and adults needs to thrive. Read more about our district foundational beliefs.
Policies and Procedures
Seattle School Board establish and adopt policies that guide the operation of the school district. The superintendent procedures are the detailed directions that put policy into practice.
School Reports and C-SIP
School reports show a snapshot of a school’s academic growth, family and staff engagement, and overall school performance. and The C-SIP is an opportunity for schools to report on and monitor their goals.
School Levies
There is a gap between what the state funds for K-12 education and what Seattle students need.
The money Seattle Public Schools collects from local, voter-approved education levies stays in Seattle. We use these funds to provide the quality of education that our students and families expect, and to ensure our students have safe, welcoming schools that support student success.
