Education in Spokane, Washington

Main article: Spokane, Washington

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total school enrollment in Spokane was 54,830 in 2011. Nursery school and kindergarten enrollment was 5,484 and elementary or high school enrollment was 30,548 children. College or graduate school enrollment was 18,798. As of 2011, 91.6 percent of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 29.2 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher.[1]

Colleges and universities

Gonzaga University

Higher education institutions in Spokane include two private universities, Gonzaga and Whitworth, Washington State University and Eastern Washington University at the Riverpoint Campus, and the public Community Colleges of Spokane system as well as an ITT Tech campus.

The Community Colleges of Spokane operate Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, and the Institute for Extended Learning, which coordinates rural outreach, business and community training, adult literacy services, and Spokane County Head Start/ECEAP/Early Head Start. CCS serves approximately 38,600 students a year, spread across a 12,300-square-mile service district in Eastern Washington.

Washington State University Spokane (WSU Spokane), established in 1989, is one of four campuses of Washington State University, the state's land-grant research university and is designated as the health sciences campus. WSU Spokane shares the Riverpoint Campus, on the east end of downtown Spokane in the heart of the Spokane University District, with some programs of Eastern Washington University (EWU), a regional comprehensive university. The main EWU campus is located 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Spokane in nearby Cheney, and the original campus of WSU is located 65 miles (105 km) to the south in Pullman.

The Riverpoint Campus serves as Spokane's center for advanced graduate and professional studies and research in the health sciences and health professions. WSU Spokane programs at Riverpoint focus on the health sciences, educational administration, and criminal justice. Among its research centers is the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center, the only center in the world that can do controlled laboratory studies of sleep, wake, and work and the consequences of fatigue. The University of Washington's Schools of Medicine and Dentistry has first-year and second-year medical students and first-year dental students at the Riverpoint Campus in partnership with WSU and EWU as part of their WWAMI (medical) and RIDE (dental) programs.[2] The Riverpoint Campus is also home to Innovate Washington (formerly Sirti), a Washington state economic development agency that accelerates the development and growth of innovative technology companies.

Gonzaga University and Law School, founded by the Jesuits in 1887, offers 43 undergraduate degree programs, 26 master's degree programs, a doctoral program in educational leadership, and a Juris Doctor (law degree).[3] Gonzaga is one of three schools that offer a law degree in the state of Washington. The school has a total enrollment of about 7,700.[4]

Whitworth was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.[5] The school enrolls nearly 3,000 students total and offers 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.[6]

Other schools in Spokane include the Spokane Art School and the Washington School of World Studies affiliated with and housed within the People to People Student Ambassador Program headquarters in Spokane.

Defunct institutions that were located in or near Spokane include Spokane University, Spokane College, Spokane Junior College, and a campus of the University of Phoenix.

Public elementary and secondary education

The Spokane area's three largest school districts are Spokane Public Schools, Central Valley School District, and Mead School District. Spokane Public Schools (District 81) is the largest public school system in eastern Washington and the second largest in the state, serving over 29,000 students.[7] The Spokane School District has 6 high schools, 6 middle schools, and 34 elementary schools.[7] The Central Valley School District, and Mead School District, serve over 12,600 and over 9,000 students, respectively. Smaller districts in the area include the Cheney School District, Deer Park School District, East Valley School District, Freeman School District, Medical Lake School District, Nine Mile Falls School District, Orchard Prairie School District, Riverside School District, and West Valley School District.

Private education

The area has a number of private elementary and secondary schools. These include parochial schools, schools that meet special needs and those that offer specialist education, such as Montessori schools, or an emphasis on a particular part of the curriculum. Private schools are subject to a state approval process. Examples include the Lilac Blind Foundation, Spokane Guild's School and Neuromuscular Center, the Spokane Art School and St. Thomas More Catholic School.[8]

Libraries

Spokane Public Library

Residents of Spokane are served by the Spokane Public Library, which comprises a Downtown Library overlooking Spokane Falls and 6 branches throughout the city; in addition, the Spokane County Library District operates 10 branches throughout Spokane County.[9] The Spokane Public Library system was founded in 1904 with funding from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie; the first downtown library building, The Carnegie Building, still stands 5 blocks from the current Downtown library and bears his namesake.[9] Special collections include Northwest history, genealogy, Washington state, and Spokane County government documents.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "City of Spokane, WA, 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE)". University of Washington School of Dentistry. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  3. ↑ "Academics". Gonzaga University. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  4. ↑ "At a Glance". Gonzaga University. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  5. ↑ "About Whitworth University". Whitworth University. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  6. ↑ "Fast Facts". Whitworth University. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  7. 1 2 "District Profile". Spokane Public Schools. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  8. ↑ "Spokane: Education and Research", City-Data.com, accessed 6 April 2009.
  9. 1 2 "About Spokane Public Library". Spokane Public Libraries. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  10. ↑ "Spokane Public Library" (PDF). Spokane Public Libraries. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
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