Where are the good elementary schools in Seattle Proper? (Issaquah: houses, neighborhoods)

[VeronikaW]

I know that the Seattle school district is generally considered lousy, but I know there are a few elementary schools with good reputations. Which ones are those?

V. =)

[texastrigirl]

Don't know exactly what the best schools are but the problem is more if you get assigned to the good school you live near in the lottery, should you move to be by a specific school. It's possible you won't...and then you might want to be prepared to do private education if you are not happy with your assignment. Too many wild cards for me which is how we ended up in Issaquah Schools and not Seattle Public.

[Ira500]

There are actually a bunch of good elementary schools in Seattle that tend to stay that way because of committed and involved parents. A few of those are Alki, Lafayette, and Schmitz Park in West Seattle, Blaine, Coe, and Hay on Queen Anne, Montlake, McGilvira, Laurelhurst, Wedgewood, Loyal Heights, and others. But the problems are ... For one thing the administration is so screwed up that it seems that they intentionally try to make things worse either by the lottery described by the last poster or arbitrarily reassigning good teachers and principals to other schools, and most of the good schools are in neighborhoods where houses are insanely expensive.

[MFetch]

It really depends on your kid, the leadership at the school, and how involved you care to be in his or her education. Kimball for example doesn't have great test scores but I know kids who thrive in their open setting. I've also met parents who love Graham Hill, Maple, Orca, and Beacon Hill.

Take advantage of school tours and open houses, you'll learn more from other parents than you will from test scores.

This is also a useful site:Seattle Public Schools community blog

Reading it helped me to get a handle on what is going on in the district.

Personally, I think the options available for my kid aren't that bad at the elementary level. Middle school is where it starts to get very complicated and people I know start moving or writing large checks to private schools.
Also

[CityGirl72]

We are at Wedgwood supposedly one of the great schools. And it's a nice school but a crappy education. 1st grade was a waste of time, seriously.

You live in Issaquah, stay there.

[petitlapin]

We are fairly new here, but I wanted to add a couple more schools to the chorus: the K-8's. Salmon Bay in Ballard, and TOPS in Eastlake. Both expensive-ish neighborhoods, but prices are dropping. And beware: redistricting is going on right now, which has many people up in arms (and understandably).

Anyway, I've been asking parents in the parks, Ballard Sunday Market, wherever I meet them, and the consensus seems to be that the K-8 idea really works (yay - down with middle school!). I know there's one in Madrona too, but I haven't heard about that one personally; I'm sure it's just as good.

[MFetch]

Living in the neighborhood doesn't guarantee that your child will get into TOPS or Salmon Bay. I think both are all-city schools.