Renton SD (Bellevue, Issaquah, Newcastle: houses, neighborhoods, school district)

[arlhts07]

Please help me understand the Renton schools. Is it true that these schools are underperforming by a lot compared to Issaquah and Bellevue schools? Or are there certain schools in the district that are not performing well. Is it better to stay away from this SD in general?

We found few beautiful houses in the part of NewCastle that is under Renton schools. These are priced better than similar ones in Issaquah and Bellevue, but are wondering if that is due to the school district.

Thanks!

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by arlhts07

Please help me understand the Renton schools. Is it true that these schools are underperforming by a lot compared to Issaquah and Bellevue schools? Or are there certain schools in the district that are not performing well. Is it better to stay away from this SD in general?

We found few beautiful houses in the part of NewCastle that is under Renton schools. These are priced better than similar ones in Issaquah and Bellevue, but are wondering if that is due to the school district.

Thanks!

This is what we did when we were looking at houses in Renton. When we found a house we liked, we went on the Renton School District website, and we looked on the zoning maps to see what schools were for that address. Then we went on School Digger and Great Schools and looked at the ratings for those schools. There were really only one or two Renton elementary schools that we would have felt comfortable sending our children to based on their ratings, so we pretty much stopped looking in Renton.

V. =)

[Ira500]

The elementary school within Newcastle that is in the Renton district is the Hazelwood Elementary school, and it is regarded as excellent, with test scores that exceed many of the schools in the Issaquah and Bellevue districts. That said,middle schools and high schools draw from a larger mix of neighborhoods, and aren't as good. And Bellevue and Issaquah schools are considered much better than Renton's....But test scores aren't everything, and one criticism I've heard of bellevue schools is that they "teach to the test" to make themselves look good.
And yes, there are some schools in Renton that are so bad that they skew the stats for the whole district. Renton is more racially and economically diverse than Bellevue and Issaquah, but there are students who emerge from Renton schools and end up going to Ivy league schools.
I'm not one who will say avoid Renton schools at all costs, but Renton schools is very likely the reason the home prices are lower there...Also, keep in mind that there will be houses with Renton addresses not too far away that are in the Issaquah school district, and they will have lower costs because they have a Renton address, even though they are not in the Renton school district. If that doesn't confuse you, I'm not sure what will.