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Charles Wright Academy

Private school · Tacoma, Pierce County · grades PK-12 · nonsectarian

Snapshot

K-12 enrollment
477
SBE-reported, 2024-25
Tuition (top division)
$38,115
2026-27, school-published
Student-teacher ratio
8.7:1
NCES PSS, 2021-22
Teachers (FTE)
59
NCES PSS, 2021-22

Identity and approval

Campus
Charles Wright Academy, 7723 Chambers Creek Rd West, Tacoma 98467
Host public district
University Place School District
Grades
PK-12
Religious affiliation
nonsectarian
Coed / single-sex
coed
Accreditation
NWAIS
Website
https://charleswright.org
WA SBE approval
2026-27 (state-approved private school)
Profit status
Nonprofit

Enrollment

K123456789101112
47413730334046255027382934

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25 school year, as reported to the WA State Board of Education.

Tuition and financial aid

Annual tuition
$38,115 (2026-27)
By division / fees
Beginning School $28,750; Lower (K-4) $31,500; Middle (5-8) $36,450; Upper (9-12) $38,115.
Financial aid
30% of students received aid grants last year; families earning under $250K (one child) likely qualify; Yazi Scholars full-tuition program.

Source: the school's own tuition page · aid page, observed 2026-07-03. Tuition changes annually, verify before applying.

Academics

Curriculum
AP: College Board Platinum AP Honor Roll; 96% of 2023-24 seniors took at least one AP exam, 88% scored 3+.
Washington private schools are not required to publish state assessment results, and this school's internal test data is not public. Unlike the public-school pages on this site, no score comparison is possible here, treat curriculum labels and matriculation lists as the available evidence.

Student demographics

Asian
14%
Black
5%
Hispanic
12%
White
49%

NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2021-22 (the most recent federal collection). Private-school demographics are reported biennially and lag public-school data.

Competition evidence

Known results compiled from public competition listings (National Merit press lists, tournament PDFs, The Blue Alliance). A missing result is not evidence of absence.

Research dossier

Charles Wright Academy

Independent school in University Place (Tacoma) · PK–12 · 556 students including 79 pre-K (WA State Board of Education, 2024-25) · nonsectarian coed day school on 107 wooded acres, accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS)

The verdict

Charles Wright asks South Sound families to hold two truths at once. The product remains a strong secular college-prep offering. The school holds a College Board Platinum Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Roll curriculum, with 96% of 2023-24 seniors sitting at least one AP exam and 88% passing. Upper School classes average eleven students, the Knowledge Bowl program has fourteen state championships in its history, and tuition is genuinely all-inclusive, folding in laptops, textbooks, and even the 8th-grade Puerto Rico trip. The institution around that product, though, just came through the roughest stretch in its history. A head of school departed in July 2024 amid a governance breakdown the board formally apologized for that October, the interim head died unexpectedly that fall, and fiscal 2024 closed with an operating deficit of nearly $4.5 million on $20.8 million of revenue. Insider Rachel Rippl now holds the permanent headship and the balance sheet carries $63 million in net assets, so this reads as a recovery story rather than a collapse. Still, at $38,115 for Upper School in 2026-27, families are entitled to look hard at the recovery before funding it.

Researched 2026-07-04. Citations and claim ledger included in the full dossier.

That is the free excerpt. The full dossier covers what the school's own marketing won't: admissions mechanics and real selectivity, all-in cost and aid behavior, matriculation depth, culture and fit signals, institutional health, every claim cited and dated. Unlock it for $9, or get a $29 Research Pass with 3 dossiers included.

The real comparison is against your public options.

Tuition here runs five figures a year, the question is what it buys over the public schools your address already gives you. A $29 Research Pass unlocks score trends, peer percentiles, competition evidence, gifted-pathway detail, and PTA capacity on every public school in the region, plus 3 full research dossiers for the schools on your shortlist.

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Sources

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