Frantz Coe Elementary School vs Hawthorne Elementary School

Frantz Coe Elementary School ranks #30 of 2,225 schools in Washington with an overall rating of 9.2/10, while Hawthorne Elementary School sits at #4 of 2,225 with a 9.6/10 — a gap of 0.4 points that places Hawthorne among the top five public elementary schools in the entire state. Both schools represent exceptional options by any statewide measure, but Hawthorne's rank signals a school operating at a level matched by fewer than 0.2% of Washington elementaries.

The two schools diverge sharply depending on which academic dimension matters most. Frantz Coe Elementary School earns a 9.9/10 academic score — among the highest in Washington — reflecting strong raw proficiency on state assessments. Hawthorne Elementary School, by contrast, scores 9.3/10 on academics but a 9.9/10 growth score, meaning Hawthorne students are advancing faster relative to their starting points. Frantz Coe Elementary School's growth score of 9.2/10 is strong, but Hawthorne's 0.7-point growth advantage suggests its teachers are extracting exceptional year-over-year gains regardless of where students begin.

The schools serve meaningfully different populations. Frantz Coe Elementary School enrolls 447 students against Hawthorne Elementary School's 374, producing a student-teacher ratio of 17.2:1 at Frantz Coe versus 15.0:1 at Hawthorne — more than two additional students per teacher on average. On economic diversity, Hawthorne serves 26% of students on free or reduced-price lunch compared to 11% at Frantz Coe, a 15-percentage-point difference that reflects distinct neighborhood compositions across the 6.4 miles separating the two campuses.

Hawthorne Elementary School adds a pre-kindergarten program (PK–05), giving families an option to start as early as age four within the same school community their child will stay through fifth grade. Frantz Coe Elementary School begins at kindergarten (KG–05). For families with younger children seeking an early entry point into a high-performing school, that single grade distinction may resolve the choice before any other factor comes into play.