K-12 Education Print E-mail

Spokane offers a range of private and public schools and higher education to be recognized as leaders in the state for education.Schools in Spokane County have been recognized as leaders in the state and across the nation in K-12 education. Fourteen public school districts combine to serve the educational needs of over 73,100 students in grades kindergarten through 12. In addition, private elementary and secondary state-approved schools offer comparable instructional programs.

A wide range of state-approved specialized educational programs are available from privately owned vocational, technical and business schools, and in corporate training programs in the Spokane area. Formal apprenticeship programs are available in hundreds of occupational fields – enough to satisfy the career development needs of the labor force and the training desires of local companies.

Spokane is the education and training center of the Inland Northwest, a region served by a variety of public and private higher educational institutions. The Spokane Area Private Industry Council (PIC), established pursuant to the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 (JTPA), administers employment and training programs for local economically disadvantaged youths and adults through the Spokane City-County Employment and Training Consortium.

Photo credit: Dominic Bonucelli

Fourteen public school districts combine to serve the educational needs of over 73,000 students in grades kindergarten through 12. Area schools are consistently recognized for a variety of distinguished programs, athletics and music programs, and most high-achieving students in Spokane County can prepare for college and university coursework, and earn college credits by taking elective Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Over 6,000 students participate in the honors, AP, and Running Start programs in the Spokane area.


DistrictEnrollmentStudent to TeacherNo. of full time teachersPer Pupil Expenditure
Central Valley School District 12,600 18 702 $8,985
Cheney School District 3,984 17 240 $9,600
Deer Park School District 2,562 18 142 $8,689
East Valley School District 4,472 18 247 $9,710
Freeman School District 908 17 54 $9,400
Great Northern School District 46 12 4 $12,943
Liberty School District 452 16 29 $12,027
Mead School District 9,597 18 529 $8,786
Medical Lake School District 1,759 15 116 $9,595
Nine Mile Falls School District 1,640 16 104 $8,978
Orchard Prairie School District 76 13 6 $10,099
Riverside School District 1,631 18 91 $10,157
Spokane Public Schools 29,050 17 1,758 $10,086
West Valley School District 3,803 18 209 $9,450

Source: Journal of Business - 2012 Market Fact Book