These are the best schools, districts in Thurston County, according to Niche

Daniel Schrager
·5 min read

A handful of the best schools and districts in Washington state call the Olympia area home, according to a new annual assessment from online rankings site Niche.com.

Niche publishes a yearly ranking of the best schools and school districts in the U.S., based on its own an analysis of Department of Education data. Factors include test scores, graduation rates and the results from surveys of students and parents. Here’s what the 2024 edition had to say about the schools in Thurston County.

It is worth noting that Niche rankings are calculated using public data and reviews from the public and alumni and should not be taken as definitive rankings.

Here is how schools in Thurston County were ranked.

Best high schools

  • With a rare A+ grade, Pope John Paul II High School in Lacey was the top ranked school in the county and the No. 32-ranked high school in the state. The school earned A grades for its college prep, academics, and its student activities.

  • The top public school on the list was Olympia High School. With an A grade, Olympia placed No. 21 among public schools in Washington. Its athletics programs also caught Niche’s attention, as the school ranked as the No. 40 school for athletes in the state. On the academic side, 93% of its students tested at proficient levels in reading, and 74% did in math.

  • In third place was another Lacey private school, Northwest Christian High School. It ranked as the 16th most diverse private school in the state and the 16th best school in the state for the arts.

  • Capital High School was the second-highest ranked public high school in the county and fourth-ranked high school overall. It earned A- grades for its academics, diversity and teaching.

  • Two more Olympia-area schools earned an A- grade: Timberline High School in Lacey, and Eagle View Christian School in Yelm. Timberline earned high marks for its diversity and its proficiency rates in reading, while Eagle View Christian’s highest grade came in the academics category.

Best elementary schools

  • The top six spots on Niche’s list of best elementary schools in the county all belonged to the Olympia School District. Centennial Elementary School took the top spot, with an A+ grade for its teachers, an A in academics and an A- in diversity. With proficiency rates above 80% in both reading and math, Centennial was also the No. 12-ranked public elementary school in the state.

  • Roosevelt Elementary School wasn’t far behind, at second place in the county and 23rd place in the state. Roosevelt had identical grades in academics, teaching and diversity. Its test scores were slightly lower, with a 77% proficiency rate in reading and a 72% rate in math.

  • Pioneer Elementary in Olympia took third place with A’s in academics and teaching, and a B+ in diversity. It ranked No. 73 among public elementary schools in the state.

  • Earning the final two spots in the top five were McKenny Elementary School, which is slated to be closed under a preliminary plan to cut the school district’s budget, and McLane Elementary School, with grades of an A and A-, respectively.

  • The highest-ranked schools outside of OSD were Black Lake Elementary School and Michael T. Simmons Elementary School, both in the Tumwater School District.

McKenny Elementary School is off Morse-Merryman Road in southeast Olympia.
McKenny Elementary School is off Morse-Merryman Road in southeast Olympia.

Best middle schools

  • Jefferson Middle School took the top spot on Niche’s middle school rankings in the county. The OSD school earned A’s in every category, an 84% proficiency rate in reading and a 71% rate in math – good enough to make it the No. 19-ranked public middle school in the state according to Niche.

  • Washington Middle School was right behind at No. 30 in the state and No. 2 in the county. The OSD school earned A’s in teaching and academics, with an A- for diversity. 75% of students tested at a proficient level in math and 80% did in reading, according to Niche.

  • The only other middle school in the county to receive an A overall grade was Reeves Middle School. Reeves earned an A- in diversity and academics, and an A for teaching, good enough for the No. 52 spot in the state.

  • The Aspire Performing Arts Academy in Lacey was the highest-ranked middle school in the county outside of OSD at No. 5, one spot behind Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Olympia. The top-ranked private school was Eagle View Christian’s middle school.

Best school districts

  • With the top-ranked public elementary, middle and high schools in the county, it should come as no surprise that Niche considers Olympia School District the best in the area. OSD received an A overall grade, as well as A’s for its academics, teaching and college prep, earning it the No. 11 spot on the statewide school district rankings. Niche credits the district with a 66% proficiency rate in math and a 75% rate in reading across its 12 elementary schools, five middle schools and four high schools.

  • In second place in the county and 30th in the state with an overall grade of A- is Lacey’s North Thurston Public Schools. NTPS earned an A+ in the diversity category, ranking as the 11th-most diverse district in the state. It also earned high marks for the college prep and student activities across its 24 schools.

  • The Tumwater School District earned the third spot on the list, and 34th spot in the state, with a B+ overall grade. The district earned high marks for its teaching – an A – and its athletics, which were ranked as the 24th best for districts across the state.

  • The Rainier School District and Yelm School District closed out the top five, both earning B- overall grades.

Black Lake Elementary School in the Tumwater School District was the only Thurston County school evaluated in the Department of Natural Resources study of earthquake risk. The school, built in the 1980s, was determined to be at low to moderate risk.
Black Lake Elementary School in the Tumwater School District was the only Thurston County school evaluated in the Department of Natural Resources study of earthquake risk. The school, built in the 1980s, was determined to be at low to moderate risk.

Best schools in Washington

Just outside of Thurston County, University Place’s school district earned the seventh-highest grade in the state. A little farther from Olympia, Tacoma private school Annie Wright Schools received the fourth-highest grade among schools in the state, and the 155th spot on Niche’s list of best private high schools in the U.S.

Meanwhile, in the state as a whole, the Bellevue School District topped Niche’s rankings with an A+ and the No. 173 ranking in the U.S. Mercer Island’s school district was right behind at No. 185, followed by Redmond’s Lake Washington School District at No. 212, also with an A+.