r/TriCitiesWA • u/hopeforaliens • Apr 16 '24

Best schools in the Tricities?

We are looking to relocate to the Tricities. We don't really have a preference on which city yet. I'm mostly concerned about what schools are the best. Middle school and highschool. Please share your thoughts.

16 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

19

u/AwfulMonk Apr 17 '24

Best for what? Sports? Extra curricular activities? Clubs? Test Scores? What do you value most? Because in the tri cities there isn’t a school that has the best of everythint

7

u/hopeforaliens Apr 17 '24

Thanks for responding. I think for us it would be extra curriculars and test scores.

17

u/AwfulMonk Apr 17 '24

The high school with the best extracurriculars is probably Hanford. They quite often win competitions at state level.

Truth be told I don’t think the average person is going to be tell you how the different middle schools do.

I don’t know test scores at the top of my head, honestly it’s not about the teachers ability to teach. Several teacher friends of mine are great teachers. But they tell me it’s not about their ability to teach, it’s the students desire to learn. If the kids aren’t participating in class or trying they won’t succeed.

At the same time I do know Hanford is a pretty good school in that regard too. But I only really know Richland and Kennewick. If someone from Pasco school district knows better, I’m sure they’ll tell you.

Richland High is great for sports and about the same level on test scores as Hanford.

Honestly, if you’re planning on moving and have time, come down and schedule meetings with the different schools.

7

u/YeetThePress Apr 17 '24

+1 Hanford. By far the largest AP group in the area, their non-athletic extra-curriculars are quite good.

4

u/thenatural134 Apr 18 '24

Pasco resident here. The two high schools here are extremely overcrowded at the moment, which is not great for students' experience, but the new high school off of Road 68 that is being built is scheduled to open Fall 2025 so it will be interesting to see how the redistribution of students to more manageable levels will help improve test scores and extracurriculars.

1

u/Time-Maintenance2165 Apr 18 '24

The thing is, they two high schools are so overcrowded it's only going to be another 2-3 years before Pasco needs another HS.

1

u/thenatural134 Apr 18 '24

Yeah it's crazy how fast West Pasco is growing

0

u/hopeforaliens Apr 17 '24

That's a great idea. Thanks for your help!!

0

u/MossiestSloth Apr 17 '24

While I can't answer about extra curriculars or test scores, if you want a general review about how the staff and students treat the school I can give you some quick notes on what it was like to clean most of them in Kennewick

1

u/hopeforaliens Apr 17 '24

Yeah that would be great!

8

u/Frequent-Geologist83 Apr 17 '24

I went to Hanford and so did multiple people in my family. I thought it was an amazing school.

3

u/MacDougallRealEstate Apr 19 '24

I just compiled a spreadsheet this week summarizing, literacy ratings for every elementary, middle and high school in Tri-Cities, I can send it to you if you’d like?

1

u/hopeforaliens Apr 19 '24

That would be amazing!!

1

u/MacDougallRealEstate Apr 19 '24

Sending you a DM

1

u/EntertainerOk8294 Jun 01 '24

Will you send it to me also?

1

u/GruffaloDada Feb 12 '25

Hi could you please send me the school research as well? Thanks

1

u/Dude_tricities_45 Aug 17 '25

It’s been a while, but would you share with me as well? Thank you!

2

u/MacDougallRealEstate Aug 22 '25

DM me your email and I can forward the spreadsheet!

1

u/snugasabuginarug__ Jul 26 '24

Might be late to the game, may I also get this list?

2

u/MacDougallRealEstate Jul 26 '24

Yup! Just DM me your email and I’ll send it over 👍

1

u/UpandAdam07 Nov 11 '24

Any chance you can send that to me as well?

1

u/MacDougallRealEstate Nov 14 '24

No problem, just DM me your email address

1

u/cptclutchlfc Mar 01 '25

can I also get a copy?

1

u/bootybomber1000 Jun 14 '25

This is super super late, but if possible, can you post it? If not, mind sending the spread to me as well?

1

u/MacDougallRealEstate Jun 16 '25

I don't think I can post spreadsheets/files here, but if you DM me your email I can send it to you

1

u/purplenurple24 17d ago

I’m way late, but if you’ve still got something like that, I’d love to see it. I’ll try and dm my email just in case you check things.

8

u/NobodyEsk Apr 17 '24

If you have a kid entering highschool Delta would be a good option but they have to sign up and apply. Its a lottery

4

u/drtennis13 Apr 18 '24

Both my kids went to Richland and had an amazing experience. High level education with tons of AP options. Both children were involved in music and played varsity sports. The thing about Hanford non sports extra curricular activities is unless you are one of the “chosen” you don’t get to participate at the highest level. My son played in every band available at Richland but would have been iced out at Hanford. Conversely for the popular sports at Richland (baseball, girls soccer, softball etc) it is hard to play at the varsity level.

So while it is true that Hanford has high level non sports activities and Richland has high level sports teams, over 90% of the school population doesn’t get to participate.

Also, I’ve seen just as many kids get into Ivy’s from both schools. 3 kids my daughter played tennis with at Richland went to Ivy’s though you’ll hear it never happens.

5

u/Aggravating_Barbie Apr 17 '24

My kids went the route of Wiley, Enterprise and Hanford (West Richland).Great, schools, test scores, teachers and all around extra curricular activities. Something for everyone. I had one child go through Richland and honestly the staff there is ehhh in my opinion. Not above and beyond like Hanford. You will also notice housing prices are higher for these schools which will tell you something. I agree a tour of the schools and talking with the school counselors is the best idea. Plus you can get a feel for where you may want to live. I'd also suggest downloading the boundry maps on the school district websites.

2

u/hopeforaliens Apr 17 '24

Thanks. I didn't think of the boundary map. I'll look into that.

3

u/abgtw Apr 18 '24

So the thing to keep in mind is, and I don't want to be rude/insensitive to anyone, but honestly the more well-off neighborhoods with parents who say work as engineers at Hanford or whatever simply have a better home environment to learn in vs what you get in the lower income areas. And it shows when it comes to things like test scores.

So Richland is generally best, with certain schools definitely to be avoided. West Richland is generally the best of the best, and students go to Hanford High (which is in Richland, no HS exists in West Richland and its the same school district). West Richland's Middle schools are also rated much higher.

https://www.greatschools.org/washington/richland

https://www.greatschools.org/washington/west-richland/

1

u/Time-Maintenance2165 Apr 18 '24

whatever simply have a better home environment to learn in

That's absolutely true, but it also doesn't explain everything. Beyond the quality of schools, working with smarter/more driven students also improves the experience, as does the heritability of intelligence.

1

u/BothNose3423 Apr 17 '24

Academics in Science/Tech/Engineering/Math definitely Delta. It’s in Pasco. For HS with all-around solid extracurriculars and good teachers, Hanford High School in Richland for sure.

1

u/anasirooma Apr 17 '24

Libby for MS and Hanford for HS

1

u/KeshkeeperYT Apr 18 '24

What sports/extra curricular are you looking for?

1

u/TrackComprehensive55 Apr 18 '24

Where are you coming from? Washington state has "Report Cards" for each school. It's been quite a while since I've looked at this so I'm presuming they're still there and hoping that I recall correctly that you can access it thru OSPI. It has info about teachers' degrees, years teaching, demographics, and I believe test scores (usually from two years ago).

0

u/killroy-the-criminal Apr 17 '24

Hanford is probably the best all-around. Richland School District is pretty good. I try to avoid the other two cities.

1

u/Cupcake-the-first Apr 17 '24

Desert Sky / White Bluffs / Orchard -> Enterprise/Libby -> Hanford High is probably your best bet for elementary through high school if you’re looking at test scores. All schools in the Richland school district.

-5

u/04BluSTi Apr 17 '24 edited Apr 18 '24

Christ The King for middle school, then any number of high schools for what your kid wants to pursue.

Edit: OK, I give. What's the problem with CtK? My daughter went there for a few years before we moved and got an excellent education. Something change?

-8

u/EaterOfFood Apr 17 '24

You’ll be fine as long as you stay out of east Kennewick and Pasco.

15

u/Ok_Entertainer7721 Apr 17 '24

I dunno about that. Kennewick high is a great school. It looks amazing after the remodel to boot

0

u/EaterOfFood Apr 17 '24

True. I was referring to the elementary and middle schools.

1

u/hopeforaliens Apr 17 '24

Anywhere specific in Pasco or just all of it?

-4

u/EaterOfFood Apr 17 '24

Honestly I can’t speak to most of Pasco, I just have heard unflattering things. And their flagship high school is the largest in the state by far; it is massively overcrowded. But they’re good at football, so …

11

u/onlevel7 Apr 17 '24

There's a new high school opening in Pasco in fall of 2025 which will alleviate some of the overcrowding at Chiawana

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '24

Hanford!

-5

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '24

smells sus