Top-Notch Education in Auburn, WA

The Auburn School District is known for its dedication to quality education. It serves over 17,000 students across a 62-mile area, including Auburn, Algona, Pacific, and nearby communities. With highly skilled educators—70% of whom hold advanced degrees—the district focuses on equity and excellence, empowering students to succeed beyond graduation. Cheryl Rakes, Executive Director of the Downtown Auburn Cooperative, captures the local pride in Auburn's schools: "I love the school systems here. It's just home to me."

Led by Superintendent Dr. Alan Spicciati, Auburn's schools prioritize innovation and community engagement. "Dr. Spicciati is really focused on the experience of families, teachers, and students," shared an Auburn resident. "He continues to look at how to innovate and different ways of staying engaged with the community." Auburn's commitment to excellence has earned it national recognition, ranking among the top 10 most diverse school districts in the United States and as a top district for student-athletes in Seattle.

Auburn School District's Career and Technical Education program prepares students with essential, workforce-ready skills for career and college paths. Through hands-on courses aligned with industry standards, students develop key communication, problem-solving, technical skills, and leadership abilities. Many CTE courses allow students to earn college credit through South King County Tech Prep and fulfill graduation requirements, with options for cross-crediting in science, math, and fine arts.

Green River College is integral to Auburn's workforce development, offering diverse programs that equip students and local employees with in-demand skills. The Auburn Center provides a community-focused learning environment with courses and training in Aviation Technology, Software Development, and Environmental Training, among several others. The college also hosts a Small Business Assistance Center, supporting local businesses with workforce training and development.

Green River College's Auburn Center is a valuable resource for those seeking degrees, certifications, or professional advancement. Businesses benefit from targeted programs that prepare employees for careers in high-demand sectors, helping Auburn's economy grow with a skilled and capable workforce.

With a strong K-12 foundation and advanced career training, Auburn's educational offerings provide students and residents with the tools they need to thrive in a dynamic job market.

Founded in 1852, Antioch University's first president – politician, abolitionist, and education reformer – Horace Mann, sought to build an Antioch whose education inspired students to seek a more socially just world. Today’s Antioch remains firmly committed to nonsectarian, co-educational pathways to innovation and progress – as originally intended.

Antioch University provides learner-centered education to empower students with the knowledge and skills to lead meaningful lives and to advance social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.

Bates Technical College enriches its diverse communities by inspiring student learning, challenging greater achievement, and educating for employment.

A leader in hands-on learning, Bates’s classroom settings mirror the workplace, providing students with opportunities to practice and develop skills to levels required for successful employment. Bates offers two-year associate of applied science degrees, certificates of competency, certificates of training, industry certifications and, in specific programs, prepares students for the achievement of state licensure. The college maintains articulation degrees with several four-year universities, making some of the college’s two-year degrees transferable.

Bellevue College empowers people from all backgrounds to reach their full potential and achieve their goals. Offering a public, open access higher education, the 100-acre campus sits 5 miles from the heart of Bellevue, Washington, and 10 from downtown Seattle. Its location makes it easy to get a life-changing education close to home.

Since 1973, City University of Seattle has been relentlessly reimagining higher education in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. As an accredited, private, nonprofit university, its mission is to provide career-relevant education to busy professionals who want to advance their careers and compete in the global marketplace.

Today, CityU is recognized as a Top 10 educator of adults nationwide, offering over 60 degree and certificate programs in business, leadership, education, project management, health and human services, and computer and information systems. Whether students study on-site or online, they learn from practitioner faculty and network with alumni employed at Seattle’s top companies.

Clover Park Technical College offers more than 120 certificates or degree offerings in aerospace, advanced manufacturing, health sciences, human services, business, hospitality, science, technology, engineering, transportation, and trades.

Clover Park Technical College has two campuses to meet your needs: its main campus in Lakewood and its aviation-focused South Hill Campus just south of Puyallup, and adjacent to Thun Field.

The college offers excellent, affordable education, hands-on training, nationally accredited programs, and faculty and staff that are among the most talented and innovative in the nation.

Its rich history of professional and technical education dates to the 1940s, when the Clover Park School District established a War Production program, training civilians as auto mechanics, aircraft-service mechanics, ship-fitters, welders, and blueprint readers.

Begun in 1914, Cornish College of the Arts offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in the performing and visual arts and a Bachelor of Music degree, along with year-round public programs and extension courses.

The College’s founder Nellie Cornish, and the many teaching artists who have followed her, believed in education through exposure to all of the arts. This approach continues to inform the College’s curricula and community involvement today. Its holistic approach to education promotes experimentation, discovery, and innovation, giving artists the creative intelligence they need to thrive in their disciplines and beyond.

Since 1961, Highline has been dedicated to meeting the needs of its community by offering over 100 program options that align with the careers in demand in its area. As Highline's area has evolved over the years, its classes and programs have also evolved to meet the changing needs.

Highline College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and the secretary of the United States Department of Education.

Since 1967, Pierce College has been committed to helping people realize their possibilities. 

Pierce College creates quality educational opportunities, for a diverse community of learners to thrive in an evolving world.

Pierce College District is accredited as a degree-granting institution by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Renton Technical College is a nationally recognized college committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and helping its diverse student population succeed. It centers students in its decisions and creates a culture of belonging.

Founded in 1891, Seattle University is a Jesuit, Catholic university located on a vibrant and green campus of more than 50 acres in the dynamic heart of Seattle, Washington.

Its diverse and caring community is made up of thousands of students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs, within six schools and colleges. Experience personalized learning with faculty who care passionately about your success.

Established in 1969 and located on an 87-acre hilltop campus in West Seattle, South Seattle College offers panoramic views of the city skyline and surrounding mountains. This unique setting serves as a portal of opportunity for students with diverse needs, to meet their educational and career goals.

South Seattle College offers the right degrees and certificates to match your goals, whether you are just starting your higher education, looking to advance your career, or trying a new direction.

Since 1965, TCC has helped more than 500,000 students achieve their academic goals. It is here to serve you.

TCC is many things. A welcoming college dedicated to community. A learning hub for students to grow, discover, and advance. Located in beautiful Tacoma, TCC offers big college amenities with personalized focus for you to succeed.

University of Puget Sound is an independent, predominantly residential, undergraduate liberal arts college, with selected graduate programs building effectively on a liberal arts foundation. The university, as a community of learning, maintains a strong commitment to teaching excellence, scholarly engagement, and fruitful student-faculty interaction.

The mission of the university is to develop in its students capacities for critical analysis, aesthetic appreciation, sound judgment, and apt expression that will sustain a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, active inquiry, and reasoned independence. A Puget Sound education, both academic and cocurricular, encourages a rich knowledge of self and others; an appreciation of commonality and difference; the full, open, and civil discussion of ideas; thoughtful moral discourse; and the integration of learning, preparing the university’s graduates to meet the highest tests of democratic citizenship. Such an education seeks to liberate each person’s fullest intellectual and human potential to assist in the unfolding of creative and useful lives.

Since its founding in 1861, the University of Washington has been a hub for learning, innovation, problem solving, and community building. Driven by a mission to serve the greater good, its students, faculty, and staff tackle today’s most pressing challenges with courage and creativity, making a difference across Washington state — and around the world.

UW Tacoma is an urban-serving university, providing access to students in a way that transforms families and communities. It impacts and informs economic development through community-engaged students and faculty. It conducts research that is of direct use to its community and region. And, most importantly, it seeks to be connected to its community's needs and aspirations.