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 12,078 16.2 745 $9,171
Cheney School District 3,695 15.8 234 $10,074
Deer Park School District 2,436 20.4 125 $9,088
East Valley School District 4,198 16.8 250 $10,081
Freeman School District 929 16.9 55 $9,200
Great Northern 44 11.1 4 $12,853
Liberty 457 15.2 30 $12,091
Mead School District 9,079 16.2 561 $8,941
Medical Lake School District 2,063 17.5 118 $9,571
Nine Mile Falls School District 1,654 15.0 110 $9,165
Orchard Prairie 65 10.9 6 $10,712
Riverside School District 1,671 18.0 93 $10,147
Spokane Public Schools 28,681 16.0 1,794 $10,406
West Valley School District 3,753 17.5 214 $9,584

Source: Journal of Business - 2010 Market Fact Book