Niche reveals its top schools, districts in Bellingham and Whatcom County in rankings
A new ranking of the best schools in Bellingham and Whatcom County is out.
Parent-student school guidance website Niche.com recently published its annual ranking of the best schools and school districts in the U.S. The rankings are based on an analysis of Department of Education data. Factors included test scores, graduation rates and quality of teaching. Here’s what they had to say about the schools in Whatcom County.
Best Bellingham & Whatcom high schools
With an A grade, Sehome High School topped the list of Whatcom County high schools and placed No. 27 among public schools in Washington state. It earned its highest mark for its academics, with a 89% of students scoring above a proficient level in reading, and 65% being proficient in math.
Bellingham High School wasn’t far behind, at No. 2 in the county and No. 41 in the state. Bellingham also scored highest in the academics category, with an identical 89% proficiency rate in reading, and a rate of 52% in math.
Staying in Bellingham, Squalicum High School ranked third in the county and No. 81 in Washington. The 1,267-student school earned an A in the diversity category, according to Niche.
One spot behind Squalicum in both the county and state rankings was at fourth-best in Whatcom County was Nooksack Valley High School in Everson, WA. It was followed by Meridian High School at No. 5. Both earned an overall grade of B+.
The highest-rated private schools in the county were Lynden Christian School with a B+ grade and Cornerstone Christian School, also in Lynden, with a B.
Best Bellingham & Whatcom elementary schools
Nooksack Elementary was the highest-rated elementary school in Whatcom County according to the list, with an A- overall grade.It earned an A for the quality of its teachers, and had proficiency rates of 72% and 67% in reading and math.
Bellingham’s Lowell Elementary took second place on the list with a B+ overall and an A- in academics. The 275-student school had a proficiency rate of 77% in reading and 67% in math.
Lowell was followed by fellow Bellingham school Columbia Elementary in third place, with identical proficiency rates.
Cascadia Elementary School in Ferndale, WA took fourth place in the county. Niche awarded it an A in diversity and a noted it’s proficiency rates above 70% in both math and reading.
Sumas Elementary School ranked fifth in the county, boasting an A for diversity and an A- for the quality of its teaching.
Best Bellingham & Whatcom middle schools
Bellingham was home to the top two middle schools in the area – Whatcom Middle School and Fairhaven Middle School. Both earned B+ grades overall, with A- grades for their academics and the quality of their teachers.
Nooksack Valley Middle School took the next spot on the list, earning an A for diversity and an A- for teaching.
Lynden is home to the next three schools on the list — Lynden Christian and Cornerstone Christian’s middle schools, along with Lynden Middle School.
Best Bellingham & Whatcom school districts
The biggest school district in Whatcom County is also the best, according to Niche. Bellingham School District topped the list, and placed No. 40 in the state, with a B+ grade. 63% of its 11,439 students are proficient at reading, while 46% are proficient at math. The district operates four high schools in the area – Bellingham, Options, Sehome and Squalicum – as well as four middle schools and 14 elementary schools.
Also coming in at a B+, Nooksack Valley School District in Everson, WA ranked No. 2 in Whatcom County and No. 51 in the state. It was particularly noted for the quality of its teaching, earning an A and ranking No. 25 in the state for that category.
The third and final Whatcom County school district to crack the top 100 in Washington was the Meridian School District, at No. 78.
Meridian was followed by the Lynden School District and Ferndale School District in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Highest-rated schools in Washington
Just outside of Whatcom County, the Anacortes School District in western Skagit County ranked No. 26 in the state with an A- grade. Over in Friday Harbor, WA, the San Juan Island School District ranked No. 35 in the state with a B+.
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, WA’s Lake Washington School District at No. 212, also with an A+.
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.
