About Our School
Callie Jones, Principal
Julia Butler Hansen Elementary opened in September 1994 and is located on Olympia’s west side. Hansen was named for Congresswoman Julia Butler Hansen. The school contains three pods of four to six classrooms as well as two adjoining classrooms. The physical structure of the facility provides individual classrooms with the flexibility to allow team, multi-age and multi-year teaching situations. Separate space is also available for classroom activities and English Language Learners support. The facility includes a Learning Resource Center, Hansen Family Services Center as well as a gymnasium, multipurpose room and music room.
In September of 2017, an additional seven portables and a new 10 room mini-building opened. Many of the Hansen teachers are National Board Certificated, through a rigorous training process that focuses on enhancing student learning.
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)
MAP is a district assessment for K-10th-grade students that measures a student's developing skills through a series of questions that adapt to the child’s level of learning. Research on MAP indicates the results are highly accurate. The results help teachers measure growth and determine whether a student may need more support or more challenge.
When students finish their MAP Growth testOpening in a new windowOpening in a new window, they receive a number called an RIT score for each area they are tested in (reading, language usage, math, or science). This score represents a student’s achievement level at any given moment and helps measure their academic growth over time. The RIT scale is a stable scale, like feet and inches, that accurately measures student performance, regardless of age, grades, or grade level. Like marking height on a growth chart, and being able to see how tall your child is at various points in time, you can also see how much they have grown between tests.
The higher the RIT score, the more achievement the student has in the subject. The student's percentile ranking and conditional growth percentile can show how much the student has achieved in comparison with their peers. You can also refer to the Comparative Data to Inform Instructional Decisions to understand how students are performing relative to other students in the same grade level according to our national norms.
The Olympia School District District Operating Budget Financial Report provides an overview of revenues and expenditures for the 2024–25 school year.