Seattle~ why so many going to private schools? (Bellevue, Aberdeen: apartment, home)

[matty45]

Hi Bellevue n=Native--- Your class size for Elementary school (25-30!!) is much higher than where I come from (NY LI suburbs) on the East Coast. Our schools over there are much like many private schools here as far as class size. However people pay very very high school taxes. There is really great data that demonstrates that smaller class sizes in the elementary schools (under 22) leads to higher performance. As a matter of fact I remember a funding "Initiative" Seattle had on the ballot to lower class sizes in K-2 to 1:21. For a long time McGilvra had that ratio for a long time funded by the PTA.

Best,
Lisa

[bradygus]

The data is obviously way off. It says that 99.5% of green lake students go to private school. That is just plain bad data. It may be right for the city of seattle at 20%, but every neighborhood showed a much higher number, even the lower income neighborhoods.

[Baxter1207]

Of the ~50 middle school-aged kids I know on Queen Anne, only 2 go to McClure.

McClure is depressing. The building looks like a prison. Half the teachers look low energy and ready for retirement. I tried to go for a school tour a few years ago and was ready to donate $20k which is what I spend on private school but was absolutely told no way I could tour the school. The principal of the school seemed to have zero interest in my child being under her educational care.

Public schools in Seattle should be better.

Most citizens here love diversity, hate elitism, love their communities, etc.

But we don't want our children getting bored or discouraged academically by lazy teachers, unmotivated fellow students with minimal educational aspirations, unfunded programs, etc.

[CrazyDonkey]

Families sending their kids to private schools goes back to forced busing to desegregate the schools.

And when this data was released, how many families were living on Queen Anne, and of the ones that were, what was their income bracket? Seattle was known as a city of singles, couples, and retirees, not families. We're seeing an inflow of families into North Seattle now to shorten commutes, and many are sending their kids to public schools.

When Lincoln HS reopens in 2019, it'll be interesting to see what happens to the boundaries.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Can you post a link to that data? 93% of Queen Anne residents sending their kids to private schools seems awfully high.

All those numbers seem high, except possibly for Laurelhurst.

All I can offer is my observations from student-teaching in 2 highschools that were considered to be Seattle's best. The level of instruction was so bad that a group of teachers--those with higher standards that didn't fit in-- quit at the end of the year and founded one of those private schools. Others have posted here that they're a lot better now, so I guess I'll take their word for it. Roosevelt HS is in the north end, and I imagine that other north Seattle schools are relatively good, too. That gives you a lot of neighborhoods to choose from.

[josie13]

Washington public schools, including Seattle's public schools, are criminally underfunded. I mean criminal in the literal sense. In a case that concluded in 2012, the WA Supreme Court ordered the state to fund basic education adequately, and the state has been in contempt of court ever since. I believe the court is requiring the state to pay $100,000 per day in fines for not complying with the order.

Our per-pupil spending is pathetic. So is our high-school graduation rate, compared to most other states. My own children had dismal experiences at some of the highest-rated public schools in the area (not in Seattle, but on the Eastside).

If only there was a way to turn the clock back to our arriving from the Bay Area with confidence and great experience in public schools, and our choosing public school in WA as a matter of course, I'd pick private school and pay with gratitude.

Maybe all those Seattle parents who choose private school are clued in to how bad WA schools are in general. As my children used to tell me, the teachers don't care about teaching, and the students don't care about learning.

[homesinseattle]

Josie, you are right about the funding of course but for a lot of parents, including my wife and I, the decision is more complex. We don't like the "testing" culture that schools have become, we believes it stifles the creativity of the teachers and children. We don't like the class size, the deemphasizing of music and the arts. We don't like the rigorous adherence to "technology first" and think all those computers so early may not be so good. We found a school that works for us. I have to work a little harder and have a few less meals out to have the funds to pay for it, in my mind it is a good investment in my daughter's future. I realize not all are so lucky. The lack of funding is heartbreaking, and frankly incomprehensible in a region as prosperous as ours.

[tifoso]

Originally Posted by josie13

Washington public schools, including Seattle's public schools, are criminally underfunded. I mean criminal in the literal sense. In a case that concluded in 2012, the WA Supreme Court ordered the state to fund basic education adequately, and the state has been in contempt of court ever since. I believe the court is requiring the state to pay $100,000 per day in fines for not complying with the order.

Our per-pupil spending is pathetic. So is our high-school graduation rate, compared to most other states. My own children had dismal experiences at some of the highest-rated public schools in the area (not in Seattle, but on the Eastside).

If only there was a way to turn the clock back to our arriving from the Bay Area with confidence and great experience in public schools, and our choosing public school in WA as a matter of course, I'd pick private school and pay with gratitude.

Maybe all those Seattle parents who choose private school are clued in to how bad WA schools are in general. As my children used to tell me, the teachers don't care about teaching, and the students don't care about learning.

I live in the Bay Area part-time and regularly lurk on CD's SF-O-SJ board. Whether it's there, in my neighborhood (North Bay) or where I spend much of my time (Contra Costa) there are no shortage of complaints about public schools. So I'm curious where you had such a great experience with Bay Area public education.

[kaday]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Josie, you are right about the funding of course but for a lot of parents, including my wife and I, the decision is more complex. We don't like the "testing" culture that schools have become, we believes it stifles the creativity of the teachers and children. We don't like the class size, the deemphasizing of music and the arts. We don't like the rigorous adherence to "technology first" and think all those computers so early may not be so good. We found a school that works for us. I have to work a little harder and have a few less meals out to have the funds to pay for it, in my mind it is a good investment in my daughter's future. I realize not all are so lucky. The lack of funding is heartbreaking, and frankly incomprehensible in a region as prosperous as ours.

The funding is terrible. Even if you live in an affluent area with strong fundraising capabilities SPS discourages raised funds being used for necessary things like textbooks. I posted a while back on in this same post a year or so ago and my opinion has drastically changed. I was in a position of leadership at a local middle school and I saw lack of essentials first hand. Pathetic. My older child attends one of the best public high schools in Seattle. There is a constant lack of supplies and difficulty with retaining teachers. My teen went an entire quarter in 2 courses, one an AP course without a teacher. Many elementary schools are considered very good in Seattle that is a plus. This was our experience but it went downhill after that. The HCC program attracts top students with relentlessly diligent parents so that program has some highlights. It is tough to get into unless you understand the system. I disagree with the above post in context to music and the arts, at the high school level Seattle schools does this part well. It is the only reason my highschooler will stay in SPS. My middle schooler we moved to private after a dismal 1st year. I was one of those parents that defended SPS. I still wholeheartedly support the music programs and think at both Roosevelt and Garfield they are amazing. Ballard has some great programs as well. But in general if you move here you must always be prepared at some point to pay for private school because the system is just so unreliable and inconsistent.

[Garfunkle524]

As someone with a baby on the way, this has been an enlightening thread so far. When my wife went to private high school the cost was pretty ridiculous. Nowadays it's flat out disgusting. That's only a sample size of one high school though.


I was a public school kid and always thought private schools were for hoity toity parents who irrationally saw it as more of a status symbol. Sure our textbooks sucked and we didn't always have supplies but our teachers were fantastic. If the teachers aren't fantastic here then I could see that being a serious issue.


Still though, I get the feeling that private schools are overvalued. A ton of highly paid individuals have a lot of money to burn around here, so I think that distorts it further.