Bellevue/Redmond/Kirkland schools/special needs/everything else

[Hemlock140]

There have been several people on the bus with me from Sammamish that work at Amazon, from the Park & Ride to their office is about an hour. Driving, about 40 minutes, but we leave around 6am. It gets worse later driving, stays the same on the bus with the express lanes. This is on the I90 bridge which is free and crowded, the 520 bridge is faster but has a toll.

As for the good schools, yes, they do fundraising and affluent areas raise LOTS of money. I remember at Eastlake High when our kids were there, they raised $20,000 just passing the hat at back to school night. Mercer island probably comes up with the most:

Home | Mercer Island Schools Foundation

[tylee]

I think private school may be your best bet.

I'm sending my son to Hamlin Robinson, because he has special needs as well, and although Lake Washington's special ed program is fantastic (I live in Redmond), the class size was a little too large and I felt like my son would do better with more individualized attention. Hamlin Robinson specializes in dealing with children who are atypical, such as having dyslexia, speech/language delays etc. (as opposed to being a school that only cares about getting the best and brightest and having the best scores). I'm not sure if Hamlin Robinson would be a good fit for your son, but it might be worth looking into. The school is in the city, but they do offer a bus service out to the Eastside for drop off and pick up, and after school programs as well.

[jjinla]

Thanks for the advice. Not sure $20K a year is in our cards right now, but it is certainly something to look at.

Why do the high schools are rank so low, though? Even BHS gets an 8 out of 10 on Greatschools. Is Lakemont more Mayberrish than Bellevue? Sammamish sounds great, but that 45 minute commute will wear on my husband and mass transit is not his thing. M.I. is out of our range. I hate 70'sish ranches, which is what we'd be stuck with out there under $1M.

Is real estate going up, down or steady there?

[jojo7]

Originally Posted by jjinla

Funny, you hit the nail on the head about special needs kids in Bellevue. I cringed reading about Newport and BHS reviews on Greatschools...that is the equivalent of our Scarsdale, and one that I shunned entirely. I don't want my kids competing with a bunch of Tiger Moms' kids, then being wearhoused in the alternative school when they burn out, which I can nearly guarantee with my son. He's only just starting but I always look at the HS info. as that is where you really learn what the district stands for. It's always warm and fuzzy in elementary to an extent.

We can go closer to $1M...I just would prefer not to but husband says that is sort of par for the course even though I wrongly assumed that Seattle would be way cheaper than NY or LA. What is the commute to Queen Anne west from Sammamish or Lakeland? I want a great school that cares for the whole child and fosters real learning...not just regurgitating facts for tests or to get into an Ivy. I couldn't even believe that BHS only has 5 counselors for almost 2000 kids. Insane!

Here is a public Bellevue middle school/high school Big Picture School > About > School At A glance > Goals & Philosophy for you look at and it's actually the one my son is starting this year. It's an alternative public school in Bellevue that opened last year. It's not specifically for kids with learning disabilities although they will provide assistance. My son does have ADHD so traditional classrooms don't work for him but it's project based learning and less sitting behind a desk type of learning. It's basically a school for kids who learn differently and the school gives them an opportunity to apply their own individual interests to learning in a way that makes sense to them. Anyway, you should give it a look just for future reference if you are still thinking of Bellevue. It's difficult to explain in detail and best understood when you read it for yourself. Some of the things you mentioned in your post that you read about Bellevue are true, which is why we left, in addition to other personal reasons. The only reason he is coming back into the Bellevue public school only because of Bellevue Big Picture School and going to give it a try. Private schools are a fortune! Also wanted to mention a private school in Renton that is specifically for ADHD kids called New Horizon School if you are interested. Don't think it's as expensive as some of them I checked into. Lots of luck to you!

[jjinla]

This is great info., thanks. If you don't mind my asking, where did you go before transferring back to Bellevue and do you feel it better served your child? Feel free to PM me as well.