Are Bellevue schools overrated? (Seattle, Sammamish: house prices, school district, live in)

[ItWasABigMistake]

Housing prices in Bellevue are in some cases almost 50% higher than the Issaquah School District homes a mile away. Is there really such a difference in school quality?

[homesinseattle]

Bellevue house prices are not just reflective of higher performing schools. It is also a location that provides easier commuting than Issaquah, including even by those who work on the Seattle side. Strictly speaking, the Bellevue schools do perform better than Issaquah. That's not to say Issaquah schools are bad. I think if you visited them, spoke with the administrators, you would find some wonderfully committed people. I happen to like Issaquah, especially the Front St "old town". I'm a skier and outdoors dude, it's a little closer to the mountains and great hiking.

[Hemlock140]

There is not much difference between Issaquah and Bellevue schools, and you can add in Lake Washington or Mercer Island
as all being great. The only problem with Issaquah is the extreme growth that has caused them to shift students around to handle the overcrowding, making it somewhat of a gamble as to where your kids will be going. The recent approval of a bond will help but it will be years before the new schools are built.

[Cedarling]

Bellevue has a self-contained gifted program for grades 2-12. Issaquah offers a self-contained program for grades 3-5, then challenging classes with gen ed for the remainder. Many of the gifted kids are considered twice-exceptional and may be very talented in one aspect, however lagging or emotionally immature compared to peers. For this reason, the Bellevue program is more appealing when gifted kids can go through their entire school career with teachers that understand their needs. The area has a decent sized population of highly-educated and talented people with children that need Bellevue's gifted services.

Another thing to note about the Bellevue and Issaquah boundaries is the school convenience factor. If you live in Bellevue, driving to Issaquah High is a fairly long drive to be making 2x/day.

[EvilCookie]

We chose Sammamish over Bellevue for schools and cost of housing. From my observations, there are only a couple of schools in the Bellevue district that are very highly rated, and while I don't doubt that they are very good, the cost of housing in these areas is exorbitant. Some of the other schools and areas like Crossroads, Factoria, or eastern Bellevue are not that great, and some of the schools are rated very low, like a 4. Many of these areas, especially around and along Bel-Red road are fairly ugly and industrial. It's really just west/ downtown Bellevue, Medina, and Newcastle/ Somerset that are 'nice' areas. In Sammamish, in comparison, ALL the schools are rated a 9 or 10, and housing is significantly more affordable.

Like a PP said, though, it's not just about the schools but it being a much more central location, convenient for commutes, close to Seattle, and the most urban on the Eastside with lots of fantastic amenities, something Sammamish is most definitely lacking. It also has a financial district with a number of companies like Expedia, financial institutions etc located right there, so it's a convenient location for those who work there. I like cities and love how Bellevue has a downtown/ city feel yet is super clean and polished, without any of the grit of Seattle. That said, I feel it's a better choice for young professionals without kids or very young kids under school age, unless you have a LOT of money to spare.