Does anybody want to talk Eastside High Schools

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by flyingsaucermom

I don't think that's the case with this particular Catholic HS. I have a client who has a daughter that just started there. The daughter is biracial and her dad is Jewish. They do not attend Catholic services.

Yes, I suspect that if you have the $24,500 annual tuition and your kid can pass the entrance exam, they will be happy to welcome you.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Wintermomma

All of these schools have these 8 or 9 ratings on greatschools, but how are they really? What are they known for?

Actually they all have 9 or 10 rankings.

Redmond HS (9), Eastlake HS (10), Woodinville HS (9), Skyline HS (10), Cedarcrest HS (9), Mount Si HS (10)

There is a degree of self-fulfilling prophecy to school rankings, with test scores heavily correlated with family income. The higher the demand, the higher the RE values, which further drives up test scores through wealth concentration. Notice that I call them "rankings", not "ratings". That one or more of these were previously "8" schools likely points to increasing income-segregation in the Seattle area.

Rather than trying to shoehorn yourself into an 9+ school, on the theory that it will "rub off", maybe you should expand your search list to "7" and "8" schools, which might have good theatre/arts and soccer programs?

For instance: Bothell HS, Juanita HS (8), Liberty HS (8), Kentridge HS (8), Mountlake Terrace HS (8), Shorewood (8), Ingraham HS (7), Meadowdale HS, Shorecrest HS (7), Edmonds-Woodway HS (7).

(You didn't state what your commute requirements were, so the above is a spread of Seattle-area suburban schools.)

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by Wintermomma

Can you tell me more about this?

If you google Running Start, you'll get a great deal of info. They can get an AA or AAS or AS degree in high school. They just need to test college ready on the community college placement exam to get the tuition paid for by the state. The only cost is books and fees. And any transportation needs to provided by the student.

Any Washington state high school student can take advantage of it, tuition free, and they can work with their high school counselors to get their high school diploma as well (dual enrollment). If they don't want to meet the school grad. requirements, they can request a high school diploma with their AA degree.

This is a great perk for Washington students.

[Wintermomma]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Actually they all have 9 or 10 rankings.
There is a degree of self-fulfilling prophecy to school rankings, with test scores heavily correlated with family income. The higher the demand, the higher the RE values, which further drives up test scores through wealth concentration. Notice that I call them "rankings", not "ratings". That one or more of these were previously "8" schools likely points to increasing income-segregation in the Seattle area.

Rather than trying to shoehorn yourself into an 9+ school, on the theory that it will "rub off", maybe you should expand your search list to "7" and "8" schools, which might have good theatre/arts and soccer programs?

For instance: Bothell HS, Juanita HS (8), Liberty HS (8), Kentridge HS (8), Mountlake Terrace HS (8), Shorewood (8), Ingraham HS (7), Meadowdale HS, Shorecrest HS (7), Edmonds-Woodway HS (7).

(You didn't state what your commute requirements were, so the above is a spread of Seattle-area suburban schools.)

Thanks. I totally agree with you, it just happens the houses/commute we like seem to fall into the HS areas that I first mentioned, and they all seem similarly ranked/rated with similarly sized student bodies/teacher ratios/graduation rates/counselor ratios. Trying to figure out if one veers more arts, more academic, more sports, more high-pressure, etc.

And thanks to those who posted the link for the college information.

[joyfulmorning]

Yep I know lots of kids who went to public, private schools and were homeschooled who did Running Start and transferred to a 4 yr school into Junior Year straight away, so saved 2 years of college. They do need to be self motivated and organized. For my own kids I felt they lacked the emotional maturity and needed the structure and age appropriate support of high school. Although that's my first two, my third may be a great fit.

I would agree that for certain Asian communities (Chinese at Newport for example) and also Indian parents who are more centered around Redmond, as many are Microsoft employees, they can have very high standards for their children and the competition can be fierce (in India children start Kindergarten at 3). You just have to work at balancing that in your family culture. However there are tons of two parent professional families of all backgrounds that set the bar very high. I know families from Russia, Venezuela, Mexico, Nigeria and New York who all live on the Eastside and are ridiculous overachievers. The days of white kids gliding in to the best colleges are very last century. No idea obviously of your own background but white American kids are a minority at the UDUb at 40%. Asian kids: those who are American born, recent immigrants and international students are the majority. So whatever you do know your child will be in a meritocracy. The Eastside is much more diverse than the city of Seattle but not necessarily economically. I think the average family income of households is way over 100k.

For an alternative high school experience there is The Big Picture school in the Bellevue school district.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by joyfulmorning

Yep I know lots of kids who went to public, private schools and were homeschooled who did Running Start and transferred to a 4 yr school into Junior Year straight away, so saved 2 years of college. They do need to be self motivated and organized. For my own kids I felt they lacked the emotional maturity and needed the structure and age appropriate support of high school. Although that's my first two, my third may be a great fit.

I would agree that for certain Asian communities (Chinese at Newport for example) and also Indian parents who are more centered around Redmond, as many are Microsoft employees, they can have very high standards for their children and the competition can be fierce (in India children start Kindergarten at 3). You just have to work at balancing that in your family culture. However there are tons of two parent professional families of all backgrounds that set the bar very high. I know families from Russia, Venezuela, Mexico, Nigeria and New York who all live on the Eastside and are ridiculous overachievers. The days of white kids gliding in to the best colleges are very last century. No idea obviously of your own background but white American kids are a minority at the UDUb at 40%. Asian kids: those who are American born, recent immigrants and international students are the majority. So whatever you do know your child will be in a meritocracy. The Eastside is much more diverse than the city of Seattle but not necessarily economically. I think the average family income of households is way over 100k.

For an alternative high school experience there is The Big Picture school in the Bellevue school district.

Very accurate. Most of the international tech workers are "best of the best" of their home countries. Most educated. Highest echelons of society. Unfortunately they come here and get knocked down a level or more. My husband knows this from experience...

So you are kinda right... they are overachievers.. but that's because they are trying to compensate for not being American or having a long family history in America. My husband has been in over a dozen groups between Amazon and Microsoft and nearly all the upper decision-making managers (not developers) are still white Americans, mostly male. It's been extremely frustrating that my husband, with his PhD in education to be knocked down or surpassed time and time again by someone that doesn't even have a degree. But they do have the connections and the history and the easiness of being fluent not just in American culture, but the American power elite culture.

But it is changing.. instead of having the 1% Americans get into these roles, we see the 1% of other countries beginning to join in too... so much better!

[Hemlock140]

The actual school websites can provide a lot of information, even demographics. For example, nearby Eastlake minority enrollment is 33% of the student body with the majority Asian, and most of those from India. In our neighborhood two of the last home sales were to Indian families working for Amazon, but many others work for Microsoft. Well educated parents with high paying careers tend to place a high importance on the education of their children.

[josie13]

If I had it to do over again, I would send both kids to Overlake. I was a big believer in public education before both of them had a dismal time at Redmond HS. I have friends whose kids did really well at Overlake, so I really regret not signing up for it when I could.