Gates Secondary School is a small public high school in Tacoma, Washington, serving grades 8-12 with just 86 students. The school is part of the Franklin Pierce School District, which is ranked 208 out of 249 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.
Despite its small size and low student-teacher ratio of around 7:1, Gates Secondary School consistently underperforms academically, ranking in the bottom 10% of high schools in Washington with a 0-star rating. Its proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Science are significantly lower than the district and state averages. The school also has a very high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with around 70-75% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, much higher than nearby high schools like Franklin Pierce High School and Washington High School. Additionally, Gates Secondary School has seen a decline in its four-year graduation rate, from 78.6% in 2018-2019 to 72.3% in 2022-2023, while its dropout rate has been increasing, reaching 11.2% in 2020-2021.
Despite the challenges, Gates Secondary School's small size and diverse student population present an opportunity for targeted interventions and support to improve academic outcomes. Strategies focused on addressing the needs of economically disadvantaged students and providing additional resources and support could potentially help the school make progress, though the school's location within a lower-performing school district may also be a contributing factor to its underperformance.
Students at Gates Secondary School are 27% Hispanic, 22% White, 17% Two or more races, 15% African American, 14% Asian, 3% Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian.
Franklin Pierce School District
In the 2022-23 school year, 86 students attended Gates Secondary School.