Auburn school district (Seattle, Bellevue, Sammamish: low income, short sale, house)

[raychl25]

We are relocating to the Seattle area and really love a home in Auburn. However, we have two children, 1 and 4, and we are concerned about the things we have read regarding the school district. Can anyone provide any input on Auburn schools?

Thanks!

[VeronikaW]

The schools in Auburn are not known to be very good. You can look at sites like GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community and SchoolDigger.com - School Rankings, Reviews and More - Public and Private Elementary, Middle, High Schools to get some ideas. When my hubby and I were house shopping we ruled out Auburn because of the schools.

[Hemlock140]

Agreed, definitely not among the best. In general the better the schools
the higher the home prices, it's the first thing realtors are asked by home buyers. Look at cities like Bellevue, Sammamish and Issaquah. The prices will be higher but you might luck into a short sale.

[Ira500]

Auburn schools are a mixed bag, and that's the difference between a place like Auburn and a place like Bellevue. Auburn has a few very good schools, but also a lot of mediocre and bad schools, where almost all of Bellevue's schools are at least pretty good. Lakeland Hills Elementary in Auburn has a great reputation, and there's a good middle and decent high school there as well, but you have to be careful in a place like Auburn that you don't end up living in a part of town with bad schools, and there are many.

[an_auburn_mom]

As an Auburn resident I currently have children attending the Auburn Schools. The schools are trying their best to work with what they have. The middle class community supports the schools to the best of their ability. The district, as a whole, really focuses on reading and math skills. One of my kids is an honor student and one of my kids is the opposite of an honor student. The thing that I appreciate is that even though my boys are so different in character they are treated with an equal amount of respect by their teachers and administration. Their teachers use a student centered approach in their teaching styles, which allows my kids to learn at their own pace, and still meet requirements. The school utilizes their paraeducators to provide the best and most possible learning opportunities for all students and this is super important to me.
There are schools that do service some parts of the community that are extremely low income and with this comes learning disabilities and behavior. However, those schools know what they are up against and are working dilligently to maintain a standard of providing the best possible learning opportunities and the combat behavior and learning disabilities.

Basically, every district has its issues. Auburn has a bad rap for having bad schools and it just isn't true. Yes there are schools with a higher rate of free and reduced lunches than others, but in Auburn there is a rich mesh of cultures that has come together and learned, through trial and error, to livei n harmony. Any kid will benefit from the diverse cultures of the schools and the creative ways the teachers have come together to teach.

[SeattleCat]

Hi, I lived in Auburn for a few years. Both of my kids go to school in Auburn and LOVE IT. I am a teacher myself from a neighboring district and have been pretty happy with their school. Really caring teachers and a fantastic principal. I personally think it's cool my kids go to a diverse school with a number of different languages spoken and income levels, but for some reason that tends to scare a lot of people off.

I also work with several other teachers and co-workers with children at Auburn schools and I haven't heard anything negative from them beyond minor stuff you hear from parents at any public school. Now, our kids all go to one of several higher performing schools so yes that probably makes a difference as Auburn is much more diverse ethnically and income wise than Bellevue or Issaquah. My kids' babysitter will be graduating from Mt. View High School, is an honor student in the running start program, and has already been acccepted to both the University of Washington and Western Wahington University. I also work with a woman who has a daughter that just finished medical school. The daughter graduated from an Auburn high school.

Yes the Issaquah and Bellevue schools are great for the most part, but I think it's unfortunate Auburn gets labelled as inferior. Honestly I would rather live in Bellevue or Issaquah if I absolutely had to make a choice, but it has little to do with the schools my kids would go to. Anyways, if you want more info shoot me a PM. Good luck!