Advice About Seattle Public Elementary Schools

Where on the eastside will you be working? Their schools are so much better than Seattle schools! Bellevue and Northshore districts are the best in the state for many reasons. Good luck!

I have lived in the Seattle area all my life, it is hit and miss with schools. But if you can avoid the Seattle area do. They have been closing many schools in the past 3 years and they have said they are going to close more on the 2009 year. They are closing schools for budget reasons, so what kind of teachers do you think a poor district will have?

I have to agree with TJ. I grew up in Kenmore and went to the Northshore schools. It was great, they offer a lot of programs. I actually want to enroll my daughter there when she gets old enough, she's only 3 now. Kenmore, Bothell, and Woodinville are areas I can think of that fall under Northshore, although there are some Bothell addresses that fall under a different district, so you may want to check. It's a little bit cheaper than Bellevue to live, but we were in Factoria for a while, and my neighbors were very satisfied with the Bellevue school district also. But if you move to the north end of the lake, Bothell-Kenmore-Woodinville, your husband can take I5 and you'd take 405 to work and avoid the bridges all together. Might be something to think about also, as there is talk of putting tolls on the bridges. I think Seattle is the only district where you'd have a chance of not going to your neighborhood school. I know for Northshore that you go to the school closest to your home. Good luck with your move!

Hi,
We live In Maple Leaf.. which is about 2 miles from Greenlake and Northgate.. we are 10 min from the U.. Maple Leaf has big yards and is about 6 miles north of down town.. Most of the homes are older 1940 - 1920 around that era.. Probably a little less expensive than ravenna or wallingford. My friends are happy with the schools for the most part.. Some go to olympic view it is a mix.. Although I opted for my 6 year old to go Private but it is a christan school.. that I went too.
My husband works in Seattle but the commute to Bellvue is often times hell.. sometimes it takes my friends over and hour in rush hour to get to work each way.. We bought our cars in bellvue and when I have to thake them in for service I will not go over in rush hour b/c the commute is so bad.. so I will go at like noon.. Maybe he should talk to other people that do the commute daily and see what they think.. Or if he is working off hours the commute could be better.
Best of luck,
Lenc

As a retired teacher - who worked for Northshore Schools for 20 years - I strongly encourage you to look at LIVING on the east side ( the districts are really truly better ) Seattle does certainly have some excellent schools- but there is NO quarantee that your children will be in their own neighborhood- it's a 35 year picture of inadequate funding and errors that have made a tough situation worse.

Bellevue School District, Lake WAshington School District, or Northshore School District are better =- significantly so. ( they are all on the East side )

Blessings,
J.

Queen Anne is a beautiful area, but it'll be a bear of a commute to the eastside. You might be better off living on the eastside (where schools are pretty consistently good) and having your husband commute. Good luck, I'm sure others have more helpful advice than I do!

I see that a lot of people are suggesting that you live on the eastside and commute to Seattle, which is fine. The communte to the eastside from Seattle is horrible! However, you sound like you are coming from a fairly urban place and you should understand that the eastide is not very urban. Even downtown Bellevue is more like a big suburb with skyscrapers culturally speaking. You should also think about what is important to you. The eastside will not feel like living in a city. It is not very diverse either ethnically or socioeconomically. Don't get me wrong, I have many friends who live on the eastside and there are things I like about it a lot. However, it is not very urban and if you are looking for that, it is not for you. Seattle is an urban city with all of the positives and negatives that come with that, including a slightly messed up school system. That does not mean thatall the schools are bad, some are quite good!
Don't get too freaked out by horror stories of kids riding busses 2 hours to elementary school. They don't do that anymore. You are not guaranteed your refernce school though and if you register late, you will be placed where there is room. I am not sure when the deadline is, but for our school district it is now and for my sister (on the eastside) it is next week.
Seattle is also not closing schools every year. They have been TALKING about closing schools for several years and it finally looks that that will happen.
I would suggest looking at the NE and NW sections of the city if your husband is working at the UW. Montlake would be super close and near 520 for your commute, Also, View Ridge, Wedgewood, Maple Leaf, Laurelhurst, Madison Park and Wallingford would be easy to get to. Queen Anne, Magnolia abd Ballard are all a little farther away, but great places to live with kids.
Keep in mind that it is fairly expensive to live in Seattle. We used to live in Ballard (and loved it!) but when it came time to buy a house, we couldn't afford to stay in the city. Housing prices have dropped some since then, but the property taxes in Seattle are horrible!
Good Luck on your search and hope you land in a place that is a great fit for your family!

Hi M.,

Welcome to Washington! We used to live in Seattle as well and I highly suggest living as closely to where you will be working as possible. It is unfortunate that one of you will be commuting since you are each going to be working on different sides of the water. The daily commute across the water is agonizing and be prepared for it to take over an hour every day, sometimes 2. I lived in Ballard, neighborhood Just west of downtown Seattle also not far from the University. It was a lovely little neighborhood on the water. My son went to Adam's Elementary school there and they have an attached daycare so my son didn't even have to leave the school grounds to get to before and after school child care, which I loved and made thing a lot easier and less worrisome for me. I was happy with the school and loved his teachers and they were great about working with working parents. But my son was in school by the time I moved to Seattle, so I don't have any suggestions for child care for your younger son, unless one of you has day care available at their work place. But commuting anywhere in Seattle during peak rush hour is a nightmare, they have some of the worst traffic in the country, so if possible, whoever doesn't have to pick up the children I would advise to do the commuting.

When I moved there I just got myself a good street map and made a point to find things in all areas of seattle, East and West side, so I knew my way around, and the short cuts to avoid traffic. But I am sure moving from Chicago which is a much bigger city, you are familiar with that and Seattle seems like a piece of cake lol. Best of luck to you.

I haven't visited this school but I used to live in Seattle and heard it was the best public school but that there is a LONG waiting list to get on it so I would sign up now.

John Stanford International School

It is also linked somehow with the University of Washington.
Good Luck

Don't rule out Bellevue if you are on the eastside. Friends who live in and near the downtown love the convenience.

M. - I too would suggest living on the Eastside. The schools are better, it's a "bit" cheaper, and the commute wouldn't be too bad. You will be working on the Eastside and your husband could take the bus over to the UW. There is a direct route from downtown Bellevue to UW. The schools are better over on the Eastside, and Northshore (which is North Eastside) is one of the best in the state.
My friend lives in Seattle (Capitol Hill) and her son goes to school in the Seattle district. Although she loves his school he is on the bus about 40 minutes EACH WAY to get to the school. That seems like a long time to me.
Good thing you are moving in the summer, that is when we have the best weather!! L.

I have lived in both Seattle and on the eastside, and if you can afford it and your husband doesn't mind the commute, I highly recommend moving to the eastside. I lived in and LOVED Bellevue. In a lot of ways the eastside has much better school districts. That said, Seattle schools are certainly not terrible. Being involved is key. My son attended his neighborhood school in West Seattle until we moved south, and it was fine. The greenlake area is also a nice place to raise kids, and very close to UW

I think you have much greater stability in the east side schools.

Every year Seattle, due to budget cuts is closing 4 to 6 schools. There is always an up roar about it. It is never settled until the last minute. The teachers always want to do their best, as does the administration. There are some wonderful private schools if you want to go that way.

If you live in Chicago--you KNOW about commutes! They can be pretty miserable there (I am from metro-Detroit and have tons of friends who have transplanted to Chicago, any time I have visited I'm amazed at how crazy traffic is at all times of the day!) and for the most part, can be pretty miserable here.

I also understand the desire to live "in-city." My husband and I are both HUGE fans of living in the city (Ballard neighborhood) but both work on the Eastside. I am a teacher at an Eastside district, and my husband is the principal/supervisor at a special school (mental health services) for a hospital. We are so lucky that we can commute together, as being in that carpool lane saves us about 20 minutes a night. We leave the house early enough in the morning that traffic is never an issue. Our daughter's daycare is less than a mile away from both of our respective workplaces too, so it's nice to commute as a family.

We have thoughts about the Seattle Public Schools that concern us as well. What I've heard from our neighbors is that the local elementaries are great, it's the middle/high schools where things start to get "dicey". I'm lucky enough to teach in a public school district in which I can send my children, if I want--and I may if I become dissatisfied with SPS. I do want to give them a chance though. The other posts about many people switching to private for middle and high school seem to be echoing a lot of what I've heard.

It also sounds like which neighborhood you live in is the key. The schools that seem to stay under the radar of the "chopping block" for budget cuts tend to be the ones north of the Ship Canal. There are schools that are desirable and people want their kids to be able to attend them, but the attendance and districting thing seems to change quite frequently. Finding one with a lot of parent/community involvement is probably a good start. I'm not looking forward to the day when I need to start considering enrollment at the middle school level!

That said, we still wouldn't change our living situation. We have parks in our neighborhood, the zoo is five blocks up the hill froom us, the locks are a mile in the other direction, we have a downtown area in our neighborhood within walking distance with all the amenities we need, and bus lines to get us to downtown Seattle any time we don't want to drive/park. We have a farmer's market in our neighborhood, a hospital, plenty of community activities, and are very happy with our quality of life there. Many neighborhoods in Seattle have these benefits, which is why we chose to stay in the city after getting "Eastside jobs" and starting to have kids.

Key is find a neighborhood you fall in love with, but make the schools part of what you decide is great about it. There are several neighborhood mom's groups on yahoo groups--perhaps you can email/post to some of those and ask similar advice. (Ballard, Greenlake, etc.)

Good luck! Welcome to the Pacific Northwest.

Hi M. - we did the same move (Chicago to Seattle) in July of 2006, so I was in your shoes with a 4 and 2 year old at the time. Not sure if you are looking to get the kids in preschool this fall, but once you figure out where you want to live, start calling schools for fall enrollment, as they fill up fast here (not quite as bad as it was in Chicago, but almost). [as an aside....What zip code were you at in Chicago (I lived in 60613 in Lakeview near Wrigley and used the NPN website alot).

We used to live on the east side, in Issaquah (before we had kids), and my husband worked in downtown Seattle. He commuted for 5 years, and it was 'un-fun' to say the least. Your challenge is that you have 2 adults who will be working on different sides of the lake, so one of you will have to commute.

I must say though, living in the city is great! It's not exactly Chicago living, but at least it's city. We picked Magnolia, as my husband's job is in downtown, his commute is easy (bus picks him up about a block away), and Magnolia is sort of like it's own little suburb right in the city, so you get the best of both worlds...easy access to the city and all it has to offer, and a relatively quiet neighborhood community.

The Magnolia/Queen Anne schools were a big draw for us, as all 4 schools in our 'cluster' were fairly good (there are maps on the SPS website to show you which schools are in each cluster). The Seattle Public Schools have some challenges with overcapacity, underbudgets, etc. (what public school system isn't struggling these days really?), and things are as firm as pudding in terms of what is going to happen with school assignments, etc.

A great website to help you review schools is www.greatschools.net. This will help you do some research on test scores, student teacher ratios etc. It's not the do-all end-all of the decision making process, but it can certainly help you narrow it down.

Also, I don't know if you will be in Seattle by then, but there is a preschool Fair for the Seattle Northwest area on January 31 at St. Alphonsus in Ballard (on 15th Ave.). There will be 30 preschools in attendance. Details are found at http://www.momsclubseattlenw.org. Just click on PRESCHOOL FAIR.

Good Luck M.!
Pam

The Northeast cluster of public elementary schools are excellent. These include Laurelhurst, View Ridge, Bryant, etc. We had to move out of state, but we liked View Ridge a lot. It was only 5 blocks from our home and we had no trouble getting in. Friends in the Bryant area also had no trouble getting in.

Another thing to keep in mind though is that the public schools AFTER elementary are lower in quality. Many folks go private. Just another thing to keep in mind.

The schools around the UW (NorthEast Cluster) are very good schools - I have a 1st grader and one that will attend next fall. You are guaranteed a spot in the "cluster", but not necessarily your "reference shcool". We moved here April of '07 and registered late, so we didn't get our reference school. However we are very pleased with our placement, and have chosen to stick with the school he was assigned to.
There are a lot of overcrowding issues in the cluster right now, the the school district and parents are working on. Will your son attend Kinder in the fall? If so you might get put where ever there is room. If he won't attend until next year ('10) then you can register on time, and most likely get your reference school. If you request a school that is not your reference school it is harder to get in, and it's very unlikely to be assigned to a school outside of your cluster.
I've never responded before, so I don't know if you can contact me with more questions, but I'd be happy to answer them. We live close to Seattle Children's Hospital, and the 520 (takes you to the Eastside) is easy to get to. the neighborhoods here are pretty pricey - but we happened to find an awesome deal on a small apartment. good luck!

PS I don't know about private schools sorry

Hi M.,

Seattle schools are going through an overhaul as we speak. The district is closing a few schools and expanding other ones where capacity is needed. Next year the district will revamp how school assignments are done. The hope is to offer more predictability with school assignments. This should be in place by the time your oldest is ready for elementary school.

As mentioned, the NE school cluster is strong and expanding. All of the elementary are good. In addition this is the cluster that is close to the UW. Neighborhoods in this cluster are Bryant, Ravenna, Laurelhurst, View Ridge. Here is a map on the District's website that outlines the current reference groups. (http://www.seattleschools.org/area/m_schools/index.dxml). The Central cluster is also very close to the UW and has great access to 520 (the bridge that goes to the Eastside). Montlake, Stevens, and McGilvra are all strong schools in this cluster. Montlake is the closest to the UW and 520. John Stanford is another option in Wallingford.

Seattle also has wonderful private schools. However, they are expensive. (They are similar to Chicago). You can check out the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools website for links to several schools throughout the area. (www.PNAIS.org).

If city/urban living is important to you, I would not consider the Eastside. The Eastside is the suburbs. There is a great mall there and lots of subdivisions…..not a lot of culture, good unique restaurants, museums, etc.

I grew up on the Eastside. My husband and I decided long ago that urban living is a priority for us. We are currently in the midst of looking at kindergarten for my eldest for next year. We are applying to public schools as our first choice, as well as private schools. It is time consuming and a little anxiety provoking, but well worth the opportunity to live in the city.

Good luck with your decision!

I grew up in Seattle, but when my husbands job was clearly going to be on the eastside, we chose Bellevue for buying a house. Factors for us were: public system is truly better in Bellevue, houses in general are bigger/bigger yards for the $, the parks in Bellevue are fantastic, and we didn't want him to commute. Regarding the commute, it's much much easier for a person to commute from Bellevue to Seattle for the day then the reverse direction. And there are great buses and transit centers to make it even less based on traffic. Bellevue is very family friendly and has lots of great activities and conveniences. I have not regretted our decision at all.

I would suggest moving to one of the out skirt communities. I know that when we lived in Seattle (this was quite a few years ago) My daughter had to drive 2 hours on a buss to go from one side of Seattle (the North Gate area) all the way to down town, and up a huge hill (locals call it Pill Hill) She would ask to go to the bathroom before she got on the buss, and the teacher would not let her. So she would pee her pants almost daily. I yelled at the teacher, the school, and eventually we moved out of the area so our daughter could go to a local school.
The sad part was that we had 1 school in walking distance, and 4 more within 10 - 20 min driving distance. But they chose to send her to a school all the way across town.

Another thing you may want to do is to contact the local PTA. You can start by going to the WA state PTA web page at www.WAstatePTA.org then go to regions, this will show you what area seattle is in. I think it is region 6 for Seattle. You can either call the region director or the council rep. Ether of them should be able to help you with the questions about the Seattle schools.

Welcome to WA, and good luck
B.

Hi M.,

I live on the East side, so I have limited perspective on the Seattle Public School system. It has had a considerable amount of ups and downs, judging by the news and folks I've met who moved over here to escape bussing in the late eighties,early nineties. Perhaps checking into test scores according to district would be helpful. On the East side the districts are...Bellevue, Lake Washington and Northshore (my district). Further north is Edmonds and further east is Riverview. The East side is mostly burbs so diversity is minimal compared to an urban environment.
I can't rave enough about my own experience with our small neighborhood school. Another thing to consider when looking into public schools...look way down the road at the junior high and high schools your grade school will feed into. After 7 years of a 10 minute walk to school, our kids' secondary schools were quite a bus ride away. (Still superior schools though.) Hope this is somewhat helpful. All the best.

F.

This is about Eastside-Westside rather than schools, but

commuting:
- commute from west to east much worse than east to west
- parking at UW can be a bear
- bus system on 520 will drop you off easily & quickly at UW going east-west mornings
- 520 needs to be replaced (it's old, unsafe?) yesterday

city/suburb:
- Seattle has more city feel in it's history and density compared to the eastside, but it feels more like separated small neighborhoods compared to Chicago, San Francisco or other more dense cities
- Eastside has a fair amount of cultural diversity stemming from the big companies that draw their employees from around the world. (I worked at a preschool with ~80 students and over 20 countries represented)
- Eastside is suburban with many towns seeing much development in recent years.
- With the last two statements in mind, the "hole-in-the-wall" ethnic restaurant will more likely be in a strip mall rather than side-street.

Kirkland in the eastside could be a good fit as it's downtown area has a nice pedestrian friendly atmosphere (chic-small-town?), good schools, close to UW and downtown, but over the bridge for the eastward commute.

I do however understand the love of a city and what it offers. :)

Montlake could be among the quickest hop over for you both that Seattle offers, but feels more like a neighborhood than the city. North Capital Hill gets you closer to the city but still not too far from UW. Lake City (North Seattle) has great diversity, would be easier commute than Capital Hill, but is as far from downtown Seattle as Kirkland. Nathan Hale High School in Lake City I believe has a good reputation and there is a Waldorf school in the area. Wallingford is a sweet neighborhood and close to everything, but could get you in more traffic for the eastside commute.

I liked this webstie:
http://www.realestategals.com/community/neighborhoods.php

Good luck!