Seattle Public Schools? (Shoreline, Redmond, Mercer Island: houses, transfer, neighborhoods)

[aginther]

We are relocating to Seattle. I've seen some lovely houses on line that are in the Seattle school district. But I'm wondering if it's like so many other cities... where if you live in/near the city-- you "must" go with private schools.

I welcome anecdotes and impressions... and if you have any research or news articles to point to, that would be great, too.

If there are certain neighborhoods/schools we should consider or avoid, please let me know.

So far-- we keep hearing that we should avoid public schools all together in Seattle (and instead, look at Issaquah, Redmond, Lake Washington School District, Snoqualmie Falls...). But I've read some positive research about some of the Seattle schools... don't know what to make of the drastic contrast in opinions.

Thanks,

[fromvictoria]

If there's anyone out there with feedback, I'd love to hear it too! It's very hard to find good information online, and it is scary when trying to make such a big decision about where to move...
Any opinions would be great!
Thanks!

[scirocco22]

While waiting for folks to comment, I want to take this opportunity to suggest doing a search on the subject. We've talked about Seattle schools in dozens of threads in the past two years that the C-D forums have been in existence.

You can read some interesting comments on those threads while you wait for responses from current participants.

Thanks for coming to C-D forums.

[jwb123]

If I had other options, as a parent, I would not put my children in Seattle School District.

[CityGirl72]

Jenbar and I agree

[woodinvilleguy]

The schools on the Eastside are by far better supported. If I had to rank them I they would be:\

1) Mercer Island SD
2) Lake Washington SD
3) Northshore SD

I've heard great things about Mercer Island SD, the lake washington and Northshore SD's are pretty much tied.

[cabocurtis]

We have lived in Seattle for 20 years and have a 12 year old. A recent Seattle Magazine add states approx. 26% of students here attend private schools. There are pockets of good public schools but the leadership has been a mess. For instance I play rec basketball at Ballard High School which was a beautiful built public high school opened in the last 10 years. Now it feels dumpy to me with grafitti etc.. We have friends in public schools doing fine but we often hear of strange stories involving teachers being transferred in and out early in the school year, principals leaving etc. Take a look at greatschools.net. I agree eastside schools like redmond, mercer island and bellevue, issaquah are better and more consistent. You will pay a price though if you have to commute to seattle. Good luck.

[aginther]

Does anyone know anything about schools in Shoreline?

Thanks for all the input.

While scores and charts are great, first hand experience is also important!