7315 Eustis Hunt Road
Spanaway, WA 98387-5305
phone: 253-683-8900
fax: 253-683-8998

Principal:
Stephen Rushing

Assistant Principal:
Ben McCracken

Secretary:
Anne Blessing

Current Enrollment:
909 K-6

School Website:
Click Here

Staff Websites:
Click Here

School Improvement Plan:
Click Here

2008-2009 Bethel School District Calendar
Calendar0809.pdf

School Supply List:

2007-2008 Pioneer Valley Elementary Service Area Boundary Map
Click Here

Our Mission
To form a partnership of students, parents, community, and staff in order to create a caring
climate in which each person is entitled to courtesy, respect, and dignity so that continuous
and life-long learning can be modeled and applied by all.

What Makes Us Special
Pioneer Valley has the highest math scores and the second highest reading scores among
15 elementary schools. We have a school-wide student behavior plan called Raise
Responsibility.The emphasis of this discipline approach is to teach students what
it means to be responsible and how to show responsible behavior. Each year we
celebrate adults in childrens’ lives by organizing Muffins with Mom and
Donuts with Dad. Four times per year these adults are invited to have breakfast with
their children. Sixth grade students attend outdoor school at Camp Seymour.
This provides great hands-on experiences with nature, as well as learning to work
together to accomplish common goals.

Uniform Policy
Pioneer Valley requires students to wear uniforms. This is our eighth year with a
uniform policy. We survey parents every two years and receive feedback on the policy.
Recently, we added the colors red and light blue to our shirt choices.

Raising Expectations and Standards
We saw tremendous success in our student achievement in 2006.
Fourth grade WASL scores increased 31 points in math, 17 points in reading and
14 points in writing. Fifth grade science scores also increased by 27 points!
We credit our success to high expectations for all students, quality professional
development for staff and a belief in teamwork. In 2006-2007, we’ll participate in a
district-wide initiative to improve math achievement at all schools.
We’ll work with experts from the University of Washington to plan, implement and
assess research-based practices in math to ensure all Pioneer Valley students succeed.

Community Connections
Pioneer Valley has a strong PTA that organizes a Fall Carnival, Holiday Fair and Bingo Night.
We work with Graham Community Learning Center for an after-school science program
We also have a year round daycare called the Explorer Club.

Parent and Community Involvement in Learning
In 2005-2006, Pioneer Valley conducted a Reading Night. Students and parents came and
learned about classroom literacy learning as well as summer reading challenges.

The History of Pioneer Valley Elementary
Click Here