Catharine Blaine K-8 School vs Hawthorne Elementary School

Hawthorne Elementary School ranks #4 of 2,225 schools in Washington, placing it among the top 0.2% statewide. Catharine Blaine K-8 School sits at #117 — still a strong top-6% showing, but trailing Hawthorne by 113 positions and 0.8 overall rating points (8.8 vs 9.6). For Seattle families weighing two high-performing options, that state rank gap is the sharpest single differentiator between the two.

Both schools post identical academic scores of 9.3/10, so raw proficiency is a wash. The separation comes on growth: Hawthorne Elementary School scores 9.9/10 on growth versus 9.2/10 at Catharine Blaine K-8 School — a 0.7-point gap that reflects how much additional learning progress students make beyond baseline expectations. Hawthorne's near-perfect growth score means students are consistently outpacing their predicted trajectories, which drives its overall edge despite matched academic proficiency.

The demographic profiles diverge meaningfully. Catharine Blaine K-8 School enrolls 436 students with a free/reduced lunch rate of just 8%, while Hawthorne Elementary School serves 374 students with a 26% FRL rate — more than three times higher. That equity gap is substantial. Catharine Blaine also carries a higher student-teacher ratio at 18.2:1 compared to Hawthorne's 15.0:1, meaning Hawthorne students get roughly one additional teacher for every five students — a concrete classroom-size advantage that compounds at the elementary level.

Grade range is a structural distinction worth planning around. Catharine Blaine K-8 School serves kindergarten through 8th grade, keeping students in one building through middle school and eliminating a transition year. Hawthorne Elementary School runs pre-K through 5th grade only, so families will need to navigate a middle school application at 6th grade. The pre-K entry point at Hawthorne does provide an earlier enrollment option that Catharine Blaine does not offer.