Moving back to Bellingham this Summer - Neighborhoods and Schools? (Lynden: fit in, to rent)

[Bcfaria]

We lived in Whatcom County for almost 17 years (up in Ferndale) and loved it. We then transfered overseas for my husband's job and have been living overseas for 5 years. While in Whatcom County, my kids attended private school and overseas it has been the same. They have been in a wonderful, diverse, academic school.

We are planning to move back to Whatcom County this Summer and have decided to move to Bellingham.

Our kids will be in: 10th grade, 8th grade and 2nd grade. This means looking at ALL 3 school levels. I am most concerned with ES and HS. Our kids are very athletic and also academic. I was debating between Sehome/Bellingham/Squalicum High School. I've heard that Sehome can be hard to fit into, there is more of a drug problem there and although it's a beautiful campus and performs well academically that it may not be a great school socially. I've heard that Squalicum has strong athletics and academics and has a wide course offering. I've heard that Bellingham High is very diverse and accepting and has a strong drama program. I'm open to hearing more input about these schools.....


As for ES - these seem all over the board.

I wan an environment where the parents are very involved. The kids are supportive of each other. The school is safe. There are extra-curriculur activities at the school. The parents are inclusive and so are the children.

As for neighborhoods - I started out looking on the southside but they definitely seem to be more on the expensive end so we have been focusing on the Barkley Hill area. Obviously - we are going in with a fresh slate and can live anywhere but plan to go where it's the best school fit. Unfortunately - we are unable to visit any schools prior to moving there!

My daughter only has one year of MS so I'm more focused on a quality HS and quality ES since it's hard to find all 3 in one area!

We will be looking in the 450K - 525K range for houses. Thanks for any suggestions!

[CrazyDonkey]

Sudden Valley is assigned to Geneva ES, Kulshan MS, and Bellingham HS, all "7" at GreatSchools. For instance:

9 Offshore Ct, Bellingham, WA 98229 | Zillow

Sudden Valley Community Association

[perigee]

Bellingham HS use to be considered the trouble school, but with gentrification of the letter streets coupled with a big redesign has improved it's standing. Barkley is a great neighborhood to look into, but I would recommend renting and spending some time meeting with different PTA to see which ones would be a good fit.

With today's out of control tuition costs for college, look into seeing if you can get your kids into full time Running Start for their junior and senior years and get the state to pay for the first two years of college.

Finally, Sudden Valley has a lot going for it, including more affordable housing, but there are some negatives and there was a recent thread that covered it, which you should look at if SV makes the shopping list.

[Bcfaria]

I don't want to live as far out as sudden valley. I'm hesitant to live as far out of the way as Lyndon so that puts me back to Ferndale ore Bellingham. There are so many opinions out there and what I find online for school ratings seem like all high schools in the district of Bellingham have gone downhill with percentage graduating and I hear about more rampant drug and gang problems everywhere. It's hard to find the best fit around here.

[perigee]

I can see why parents are so anxious about making sure that they give the best opportunities for their children, but study after study has shown that home life has a bigger impact on kids, especially when considering all the schools in Whatcom county are going to be at the very least decent.

Personally, I wouldn't suggest Lynden, but Ferndale has experienced a tremendous upswing in housing and people moving there, so much so that Main can get very clogged during 'rush hour'.

Squalicum is a good school, but like all you will have hit or misses with teachers, sports are very big, so that maybe a good or bad thing for your kids. Sehome is great with it's close proximity to Western allowing easy field trips to the campus and Bellingham is very up and coming.

Your children have been given a great opportunity living overseas and I am sure they picked up a lot of important life skills, coupled with supportive and caring parents, they will probably succeed in any of the schools here.

Hmm, non-advice might be the worse kind of advice out there, sorry if I am not being helpful.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Bcfaria

I don't want to live as far out as sudden valley. I'm hesitant to live as far out of the way as Lyndon so that puts me back to Ferndale ore Bellingham. There are so many opinions out there and what I find online for school ratings seem like all high schools in the district of Bellingham have gone downhill with percentage graduating and I hear about more rampant drug and gang problems everywhere. It's hard to find the best fit around here.

School ratings (GreatSchools) in this state are entirely based on test scores, which are heavily correlated with family incomes. So, to be taken with a grain of salt. Ratings are more a measure of who is moving in and out of an area, than the quality of the school. Both Squalicum HS and Sehome HS do currently have pretty low ratings:

Squalicum HS "2"
Sehome HS "3"
Bellingham HS "6"
Meridian HS "8"

Just based on that, I'd be looking at Meridian HS and Bellingham HS, although dig deeper, for sure.

High Schools in Bellingham School District, 1-5 - Bellingham, WA | GreatSchools

I'd guess that poorer families are moving north-east and south, due to housing prices spiking up in Bellingham proper (west of I-5).

Sudden Valley does get you into good-scoring schools (including Bellingham HS), and it has a lot of amenities for families with children (and isn't really all that far from Bellingham):

Sudden Valley Amenities | Sudden Valley Community Association

Here's the latest thread on it:

//www.city-data.com/forum/washi...ey-thread.html

[Bcfaria]

After speaking with friends who have kids on the different high schools on the area, we have settled on the school and area that is the best fit for our kids. All the high schools in Whatcom county have their strengths and weaknesses and it's not a matter of what's the best so much as what's the best fit for you. I've reviewed online course catalogs to assist in our decision making and have focused more on personal experience at different schools rather than other information at this point. So now we are listing our Ferndale home and looking to buy in the silver beach area on Barkley hill.

[celinetmika]

Originally Posted by Bcfaria

After speaking with friends who have kids on the different high schools on the area, we have settled on the school and area that is the best fit for our kids. All the high schools in Whatcom county have their strengths and weaknesses and it's not a matter of what's the best so much as what's the best fit for you. I've reviewed online course catalogs to assist in our decision making and have focused more on personal experience at different schools rather than other information at this point. So now we are listing our Ferndale home and looking to buy in the silver beach area on Barkley hill.

Welcome back to the area!
If you decide to rent out your house in Ferndale, let me know! lol

[2mkuhn]

My husband and I moved to Bellingham last year from CO (we also lived overseas for 10 years before CO!), and we ended up buying a house in the Silver Beach area. Our 2 boys both go to Silver Beach Elementary and love it there. They very quickly made friends, and we have been happy with the curriculum/teachers there. There are some housing developments off Barkley that would fit your price range. If you go too far west on Barkley, though, you will not be in the Silver Beach Elementary area. We live closer to the Lake Whatcom side of Silver Beach, and I really love that north side of Lake Whatcom, if you can find anything there. Older homes, but many with lake views.
Good luck!

[expataussie]

Just curious as to which HS the OP decided to send their kids? I found it difficult to pick the top one out based on the information at hand. I'm not sure I really trust greatschools.