At a glance
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
| School type | Public SPS option school; Spanish or Japanese immersion for every student |
| Grades | K–5 |
| Address / phone | 4057 5th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 / 206-252-6080 |
| Washington rank | #26 of 1,160 public elementary schools; state percentile 97.8 (SchoolDigger 2025) |
| Assigned by residence? | No; everyone applies through School Choice |
| Selection | Sibling, GeoZone and native/heritage-speaker rules, then lottery |
| DLI pathway | Hamilton International Middle → Lincoln High (choice forms may still be required) |
Summary
JSIS offers a distinctive half-day Spanish or Japanese immersion experience from the first day of kindergarten. It is academically strong and unusually diverse by the NCES index, but it is not guaranteed by moving into Wallingford: it is an option school, kindergarten waitlists are expected and nonresident applications are considered only after resident choice enrollment.
Enrollment, academics and diversity
| Measure | Value | Source/year |
|---|---|---|
| Total / kindergarten enrollment | 422 / 77 | NCES 2024–25 |
| Classroom teachers / ratio | 23.50 FTE / 17.96:1 | NCES 2024–25; not class size |
| ELA, all tested grades | 83.6% | OSPI 2024–25 |
| Math, all tested grades | 86.2% | OSPI 2024–25 |
| Grade 5 science | >95% | OSPI 2024–25; privacy-suppressed bound |
| Diversity index | 0.71 | Calculated from NCES race/ethnicity counts |
Kindergarten, program and access
- Every kindergartener spends about half the day learning in Spanish or Japanese; content includes math, science and/or social studies in the target language.
- The school says certificated instructional assistants staff immersion rooms, funded through grants and fundraising; verify the 2027–28 model and ratio.
- The program includes English literacy, project-based learning, music, PE, library, ESL, basic-skills and special-education specialists.
- For 2026–27, the school anticipated K–1 waitlists. Seats were set aside for native/heritage speakers; remaining seats used sibling, GeoZone and lottery tiebreakers. Grades 2–5 openings require fluency in Japanese or Spanish.
- Nonresident applications ran June–August, after resident choice processing.
Fit considerations
Possible strengths: authentic daily immersion, K–12 language continuation, active family community and strong academics. Main concerns: uncertain seat, language assignment/fit, substantial commute from Issaquah and reliance on fundraising for some classroom support. Next action: if living in Seattle, enroll in SPS and submit the on-time 2027–28 School Choice application.
Sources
- JSIS overview and immersion model — accessed 2026-09-10
- JSIS enrollment — accessed 2026-09-10
- SPS DLI pathways — accessed 2026-09-10
- NCES profile — 2024–25 data, accessed 2026-09-10
- Washington assessment dataset — accessed 2026-09-10
Change log
- 2026-09-10: Added consistent 2025 Washington elementary-school rank.
- 2026-09-10: Initial profile created.