Bellingham Public Schools
Address
1306 Dupont Street
, Washington, 98225
United States
Coordinates48°45′33″N 122°29′12″W / 48.75917°N 122.48667°W / 48.75917; -122.48667
District information
MottoA Collective Commitment
GradesK12, with preschool and pre-K offered for certain students.[1]
Established1884 (1884)
SuperintendentGreg Baker
Deputy superintendent(s)Mike Copland
NCES District ID5300420[2]
Students and staff
Students11,623 (2022–2023)[2]
Student–teacher ratio13.2 (2021–2022)[2]
Other information
Websitebellinghamschools.org

Bellingham School District No. 501 (branded as Bellingham Public Schools) is a public school district in Whatcom County, Washington, United States that serves the city of Bellingham. As of the 2022–2023 school year, the district has an enrollment of 11,623 students.[3]

In 2006, the Center for Digital Education, along with the National School Boards Association, named the Bellingham School District 6th in the nation for districts with 2501-15000 students.[4][5] They were also awarded an "excellence in equity" award in 2019, from the Washington State School Directors' Association,[6] and a green ribbon for sustainability from the U.S. Department of Education in 2022.[7]

The strategic plan of Bellingham Public Schools is known as "The Bellingham Promise".[8]

Schools

High schools

Grades 9–12

  • Bellingham High School (BHS)
    • Bellingham's attendance area is a strip, with Squalicum's area to the north and Sehome's to the south.[9]
  • Options High School (OHS)
    • Options High School is directly adjacent to Bellingham High, and does not have its own attendance area.[9] It provides an alternative education experience.[10] It has lower class sizes for more accessible learning.[11]
  • Sehome High School (SHS)
    • The southernmost of the district's high schools.[9]
  • Squalicum High School (SqHS)
    • The northernmost of the district's high schools.[9]

Middle schools

Grades 6–8

  • Fairhaven Middle School
    • This school was originally Fairhaven High School, but it burned down New Year's Eve of 1935, reopening as a junior high in 1937 and a middle school in 1967.[12]
  • Kulshan Middle School
  • Shuksan Middle School
  • Whatcom Middle School
    • The school was originally build in 1903,[13] and named North Side High School, later named Whatcom High School, all before becoming a middle school.[14] Whatcom Middle School burned down on November 5, 2009, and classes were originally closed until the 12th, but due to rebuilding, the school was eventually reopened in 2011.[15]

Elementary schools

Grades K–5

  • Alderwood Elementary School
  • Birchwood Elementary School
  • Carl Cozier Elementary School
  • Columbia Elementary School
  • Cordata Elementary School
  • Geneva Elementary School
  • Happy Valley Elementary School
    • The entirety of Happy Valley's attendance area feeds into Fairhaven Middle School.[9]
  • Lowell Elementary School
    • The entirety of Lowell's attendance area feeds into Fairhaven Middle School.[9]
  • Northern Heights Elementary School
  • Parkview Elementary School
  • Roosevelt Elementary School
  • Silver Beach Elementary School
  • Sunnyland Elementary School
  • Wade King Elementary School
    • The majority of the school's attendance area feeds into Fairhaven, with some feeding into Kulshan.[9]

Other programs

References

  1. "Early Childhood Education". Bellingham Public Schools. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Bellingham School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  3. "Bellingham School District". Washington State Report Card. OSPI. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  4. "Digital School Boards Survey". Center for Digital Education. Archived from the original on November 30, 2006. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  5. Rowe, Tanya Kerstiens. "Bellingham School Board Honored as Tech-Savvy" (Press release). Bellingham Public Schools. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  6. Teehan, Joe (November 25, 2019). "Bellingham Schools Board of Directors honored". 790 KGMI. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  7. Hoffman, Hailey (April 23, 2022). "Bellingham Public Schools awarded Green Ribbon for sustainability". Cascadia Daily News. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  8. "The Bellingham Promise". Bellingham Public Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Attendance Areas". Bellingham Public Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  10. "Options High School" (PDF). AIA Seattle.
  11. Mittan, Kyle (June 6, 2016). "What to know as new Options High School gets built in Bellingham". The Bellingham Herald. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  12. Gallagher, Mary Lane (March 15, 2012) [November 10, 2007]. "Milestones: Bellingham students still walk historic hallways". The Bellingham Herald. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  13. "Historic Bellingham middle school destroyed by fire". king5.com. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  14. "Whatcom Middle School history". The Bellingham Herald. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  15. Cox, Kira M. (August 30, 2011) [February 9, 2011]. "Whatcom Middle School to reopen in fall 2011, one year early". The Bellingham Herald. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
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