Seeking Inside Perspective on Seattle Public Schools (Bellevue, Kirkland: rent, house)

[ThatsWhat]

It now looks like we will be working in Seattle proper (vs a suburb which we originally thought). We'd prefer to live in Seattle as well as we are "city-people." I'd love to get some perspective on Seattle public schools from people who use them/work in them, etc. I've seen frequent comments that for "better" schools one should look in Issaquah, Bellevue, etc (in other words not in Seattle). What I want to know is what makes them better. Is it simply test scores, or is it more (safety, more programs, better teachers, more parental involvement)? I've read greatschools, etc but since most of the negative comments re: Seattle public schools are on forums like these I thought I'd ask here.

I am not necessarily sold on the concept that higher test scores makes schools better. Having been in a very highly rated school district and transferred my kids to a lower performing charter school (where they went from underperforming for grade level and getting little resources to mastering the material and being at or above grade level), our experience was that the higher testing schools were fantastic for high functioning, academically capable kids, but not necessarily great for kids who need some extra help.

I have a big wish list for schools... which is currently met by the charter Montessori school my kids attend (which I have found in Seattle, but have little hope of my kids attending as mid-year transfers). I would want a safe school, parent involvement, good principal, teachers who care (I understand there are great ones and bad ones in every school), some diversity (my kids are different races due to adoption), a good resource program for kids on IEP, and decent test scores (again, I don't need the best, but it shouldn't be a low or underperforming school). A huge bonus would be a good performing arts/music program. Is this combination possible in the Seattle public school system?

Any insight on the situation within Seattle public schools very much appreciated. We love the Greenlake area (which looks like Daniel Bagley, Whitman Middle, and Roosevelt High schools), but are also looking at Wallingford, Queen Anne, West Seattle and Ballard.

[Seattlebound1]

I'm relocating to Seattle from NYC in 26 days (YAY!), and am also interested in knowledgeable responses to this question. We are renting a house on Upper Queen Anne and our two young children are in preschool. Fortunately, I have them enrolled in a progressive preschool within walking distance of our house, which they will start in February (after putting them on numerous wait lists back in July and August). If we rent this house long enough for one of our children to attend kindergarten, we are zoned for Hay, which looks fantastic. Other public elementary schools that I hear great things about include John Stanford, McGilvra, and Coe.

We plan to buy in the next year or two and are then in the same position as you. We really do not want to move to the burbs if possible, and while I'm confident about living in areas with highly regarded elementary schools, I'm not so sure about middle and high schools. Obviously, that will be a huge consideration for where we buy. I'll learn a lot when I get there and start talking to other parents, but in the meantime, I'd be interested in what it is that makes the city high schools "bad" as compared to Bellevue, etc. Once we buy, we'd likely be zoned for either Ballard or Garfield, or possibly Roosevelt.

Like you, the original poster, I believe there's a lot more to evaluating a school than test scores alone. Academic offerings, extracurricular offerings, parent involvement, diversity, and a school's "feel" are all important considerations, among other things. We are "city people" too, and would find it difficult taking our kids out of a diverse environment based on text scores alone.

Also, are there any public "magnet" or specialty schools for middle or high school? Or does everyone simply go to the schools their address is zoned for.

Original poster--good luck with your move. Everyone else, thanks in advance for your input.

[Hemlock140]

Look up Seattle Public Schools on the Seattle Times website. We read it daily and the district's problems are in the news all the time. Here's one, for an example.

Living | Loss of faith: Seattle is paying for failure of public-school system | Seattle Times Newspaper

More important than test scores is the low graduation rate, extreme fiscal problems, increasingly declining enrollment, state audit findings, burned out teachers and principals, parents that are clueless, weak and ineffective PTA leadership etc.

Ballard schools sound like the best there, but still can't compare to Bellevue and many other eastside schools.

I invite you to do what we did before buying here when we moved from California in 1993. Do a lot of research and attend school board meetings at any district you may be considering. After eliminating Seattle, went to meetings of 4 districts before settling on one, then spoke to parents and
principals at schools before deciding on a neighborhood.

[CityGirl72]

We lived in North Greenlake. And had my son go to the public schools. I also had my son in the Phinney Ridge Montessori.

I don't have too many good things to say about any of it - but feel free to PM me, and I'll answer any direct questions you might have.

PS - We've mentioned many times if we ever DID move back - we'd move to Kirkland (The East Side) because of the family friendly, more bang for your buck housing and better schools.

[tobester]

It's unfortunate, but IMO if you want a quality education past elementary school, the private schools are where you need to go.

[ThatsWhat]

Thanks bjsjoe. We will definitely be visiting schools and meeting parents prior to committing to a house/location. But we will have pretty limited time to do that, so the more we can narrow down beforehand the better!

I read the article. That article and the ones that came up when I searched on the Times were primarily a few years older and written prior to the change in school assignments.... as is most of the information I can find. I guess I am wondering if now that the schools are assigned by neighborhood if some of the factors (especially those like parent involvement) are improved when one lives in a family oriented neighborhood. It seems like a lot of the complaints in the older articles relate to issues that have been changed by the new school assignment plan. I haven't been able to find much information after the changing of the school assignment. Maybe I haven't been looking in the right places, or maybe it is too new and there is not a lot of data. I did listen to all the things you mentioned though and compared graduation rate and can see that Issaquah schools compared to Roosevelt high school have a much higher on-time graduation rate. I did also find a lot of articles about financial problems/ school closures, etc for Seattle so those are definitely some things to consider.

I am assuming based off your post you have kids in Eastside schools? Do you find them academically very competitive (as in high workload, high pressure) for the kids. Do you have any experience with a child with a learning disability in that environment (as I said our experience here in a high rated school was NOT good for our children, who are now all at or above grade level but 2 of who floundered in a high pressure "great" school).

CityGirl72, I couldn't find Phinney Ridge Montessori on the school district website. But I will likely be PMing you for more info on living in Greenlake with kids. P.S. it looks like you moved back to the area we can't wait to leave.

[ThatsWhat]

Seattlebound, Good luck on your move!!

[Ira500]

My kids are long past elementary school, but they survived the Seattle Public schools. I've got a couple of friends who work for the Seattle Public schools, and I have a friend who is a former member of the school board. Not every school in Seattle is bad. In fact, they have some very good elementary schools.
The school district administration has been screwed up for a long time. There are still some very good elementary schools despite this. Middle and high schools are less good. Eckstein Middle school in the Roosevelt/Ravenna area is quite good. TOPS K-8 in the Eastlake area is a really good school. Whitman in Ballard has a really good reputation.
I agree with you about test scores not reflecting at all whether a school is good or not. All it reflects is how well the kids do on the test. And those schools that do have exceptionally high test scores may not be the best fit for most students. One problem is that most parents insist that their child is exceptional, but a lot of students will drown in that academic pressure cooker atmosphere.
So I wouldn't say " Don't live in Seattle unless you're going to send you kids to private schools", but it takes a lot of being involved with the system in order to get what you want. Most eastside schools you can just assume things are going to go well. Seattle you have to be on top of things.
To me, what matters most is whether the children are safe, whether there are opportunities to learn, whether there's a lot of parental involvement, dedicated teachers, etc.

[benleis]

I usually read the Seattle Time's education and local politics articles with a grain of salt. If you want to read an in-depth parent's blog take a look at: Seattle Public Schools community blog.
The district can be be extremely frustrating at times. Its administration is byzantine and it doesn't do very well by the poorer, more diverse south side of town. That said, enrollment is actually increasing especially in the north and its alot more predictable now that the neighborhood assignment plan has started. My elder son is about to enter kindergarten next year and we have a bunch of friends already in the system. Basically, if you're involved and live in the right part of town you'll do just as well as in the suburbs. Be sure to check out the stats for the school in whatever area you decide to live in.
Ben

[ThatsWhat]

Thanks Ira500 and benleis. Ira500, I tend to agree with your view on what matters in schools. We are used to advocating for our kids education and being involved at the school too, so that will remain regardless of where we end up. Ben, thanks for that link. It is really informative. I have a lot of reading to do!