Students in the Sultan School District in Snohomish County come from Gold Bar, Sultan, Startup, Index and the rural areas of the Skykomish River Valley. Stretched out along the Stevens Pass Highway, the district covers 325 square miles.

Once a quiet logging and mining region, the area has experienced a recent residential, commercial and retail boom.

The district has joined the Columbia Virtual Academy, a tuition-free parent-partnership program to serve home-schooling families in the Sultan district who, until 2008-09, would have to go to a neighboring school district for partnership programs.

Superintendent: Dan Chaplik, former superintendent of the Republic School District in Ferry County, took over in July, 2007. He replaced Al Robinson, hired in 2000, whose contract was not renewed.

The numbers: .8% African-American, 2.7% Asian-American, 7.7% Hispanic, 2.2% Native American, 85.4% White, 36% low-income, 13.6% special-education, 3.6% ESL.

Funding: Voters approved a four-year, $14 million operations levy in May 2006.