Coming back to stay I still love this school! Our family has been at University Cooperative School…read morefor 10yrs - my 15yr old attended K-5th grade, and I currently have a 4th grader and my youngest is in PreK. We are incredibly grateful for this school, the holistic education it's provided our children and the community that has been the anchor for our family life. The teachers are excited about what they teach, care deeply for the students. With enthusiasm for their subjects and the freedom and support they need to follow that enthusiasm they make engaging, responsive, project based learning the norm all through the program. The kids stay excited about learning, comfortable asking questions and learn to ask for what they need as a learner. Our modern lives are designed in a way that is isolating and can wearus down with the load of demands of parenting- but the model of cooperative school (that's very flexible/understands we work too!) means that you can build real relationships and community in a society where that can be incredibly hard. At U co-op our children end up with so many loving adults who know and care for them - I can't overstate how valuable that is. Especially when life brings rough seasons or crisis. We know each other's kids and support each other through this parenting journey. The nurturing, adventurous environment helps kids be comfortable and confident in themselves -quirks and struggles included. My kids love going to school and I love the joyful childhood it has given them.

We have loved this place…read more We've been with U Co-op for the last two years, with almost a year and a half of that during the pandemic. I can't express how incredible the school has been. The most extraordinarily compassionate teachers and staff, and a parent community that has been supportive, resourceful, kind and caring. There is a warmth to the building (which we are thankfully back in - and masked) that we fell in love with from the first tour. It didn't feel cold or modern; it felt like creativity and childhood. There are nooks for reading, spaces for found art, paintings up everywhere. The teachers allow the children to follow their curiosity and even adjust the lessons to be relevant to the things that interest them. The kids are learning just as much as peers at other schools, but in a way that focuses on their self development and self esteem. This school has been a great find and has helped carry us through this difficult stretch.

This center is wonderful. Julz is an amazing director and leads a team of kind, skilled educators…read more Our child has been there for two years (so far) and is thriving.

Not many recent reviews here, so adding ours. Awesome location (walking distance from anywhere in…read moreSLU) and super safe - they require everyone to get buzzed in or have a unique passcode. Compared to other daycares our son was previously at, two strengths here in the toddler classrooms are (1) everyone eats and does everything family-style at one large kid-sized table (not separate little tables) and (2) lots of time spent running around outside regardless of weather. For #2, it's nice to see our son taking such good naps since he is thoroughly exhausted from running around! Only con is that the teacher at dropoff tends to be different each day (if dropping off before 8am) since the main teachers don't always come until 8:30 - took our son a bit longer to get used to, but not the end of the world. P.S. super responsive program leadership, more so than at all our previous daycares - it's nice sending an email or asking a question and getting a response back from Julz the center director immediately (even when we were just looking at options before we'd enrolled).

Our now four year old started at The Children's School earlier this year after being at a small…read morein-home daycare and we've been very happy with TCS! The teacher to student ratio is excellent, and all the teachers have been very kind and caring. They do a lot of fun projects and spend a lot of time outside and on walks. We also love the flexibility of the afternoon care program run by one of the teachers. It's been a great fit for our son, and we're excited to watch him continue to grow there!

Our 4 year old has really grown during his time at TCS. We've been impressed with the teachers'…read morecreativity and dedication to bringing varied themes and play to the classroom, and have noticed our child's love of school as well as significant growth in learned skills and confidence.

Thank you to Billings for letting me be myself for three years. This will always be my favorite…read moreschool I went to. The teachers are so kind and everyone is just a weirdo as we all are during middle school. I wish they had a high school because most high schools are terrible places.

Billings is a very special place where middle schoolers are seen and respected for their unique…read morepersonalities. My child loves going to school every day and loves her teachers and classmates.

We moved our son to The Meridian School in 3rd grade after our former school was unable to meet his…read moreacademic needs. That move was the absolute best decision we could have made. The Meridian School offers intentional small group and experiential education grounded in proven science based academic strategies. Beyond core academic excellence and targeted support for all learners, The Meridian School excels equally in social emotional learning. Meridian learners and staffers live the school values of kindness and caring for themselves, for each other and for the community. We love being so close to many wonderful organizations in the Good Shepard Center and find the public park setting such a perfect way to be open to the neighborhood and the world. We wholeheartedly recommend The Meridian School to all families!

We have a 2nd and 5th grader at the Meridian School and could not be more impressed with the…read moreleadership, faculty and community at the school. The assistant head of school and interim head of school are very accessible, responsive and communicate effectively with staff, faculty and families. The board of trustees has a strong vision for the school rooted in its mission. We really appreciate the integrated curriculum featuring multiple specialist classes: music, health and fitness, creativity lab, science, library, Spanish, art. In the creativity lab, our children routinely have projects incorporating engineering, design, critical thinking, problem solving, coding, animation and robotics. Teachers regularly collaborate on project based-learning opportunities. The experiential learning takes the learning beyond the classroom. My daughter's grade has five field trips planned this year. Overnight grade-level trips begin in 3rd grade and by the time students graduate they have participated in a total of 5 overnight grade-level field trips around the Pacific Northwest. The trip to Mountain School at the North Cascades Institute was my son's favorite. All of these are included in tuition and covered by financial aid plans. The k-2 and 3-5 learning specialists are very dedicated. My 2nd grader has benefitted from extra academic support in the classroom. My 5th grader has received additional enrichment in math and language arts since he has surpassed grade-level benchmarks. The admissions director provides individual support to families as they embark on process of applying to independent middle schools in 5th grade. We found the community to be warm, welcoming and very engaged. Our family has made many lifelong friendships through the school.

NELC is a hidden gem that we discovered by mistake (we needed daycare right away, and they had a…read morespot). We are not religious, and many families are not. The school is also LGBTQ-friendly. Don't let the religious affiliation deter you either; it's a pro because the church will sponsor and subsidize cool events for your kids, like Easter celebrations with bounce houses, a fair, food, egg hunts, and Christmas celebrations. During Christmas Santa visited and took pictures with the kids for free. It's a small school where teachers worked for many years, and the community is close. Curriculum is well thought out and connected. Kids will go outside in the shaded playground; they have an indoor gym for rainy days, two meals and multiple snacks covered, and generous hours open. Moreover, the school has monthly special events and projects all free of charge, and the summer time features a weekly theme and special event each week (like reptile guy, tumblebus, etc). Even when there have been performances by the kids, the school will professionally record it to provide to the families for free after editing. What school does that? Over the two years we've been there, the school added weekly music class and weekly dance class by Seattle Dance Institute for the kids, all free of charge, and there's talk of adding language classes. The best part for us has been the diversity of the student body. We had a cultural night this year with foods from many different countries and traditional outfits modeled by the kids. Each kid gets individualized attention, and teachers will work with each family for concerns. Due to NELC preschool, our kid was accepted into a sought-after, highly capable private K-8 school this year (and it really is NELC because we did not do any teaching or letters or numbers at home). We mentioned having metal plates for the kids, and the school is looking into switching. The only con I can think of is the birthday celebrations with cupcakes and ice cream (sugar for your kid), which happen often. But it's a small thing. The admin and teachers are so sweet and worked with us for emergencies and went out of their way to make sure our kid adjusted and felt welcome and loved.

This place has been amazing for our kids growing up. the staff is so caring and nurturing, we can…read moretruly trust them as parents. the activities are plenty and a great mix of academic, creative and cultural learning. kids also have a chance to perform on stage three times a year and it's special to see them thrive and enjoy themselves.

Nice people, but my experience was not good…read more We went through a complete evaluation and we found the results to not be accurate after a second opinion.

When we suspected something was a little different about our then soon to be three year old, I'm…read moregrateful we chose to get him tested at the U of W Autism Center. Yes, insurance didn't fully cover the cost and we still had to pay quite a bit out of pocket. Yes, initially were on a six months long wait list but due to a cancellation we were able to get him in three months after we initially put our referral in. The doctor (psychologist) that we were paired up with to complete the multi-day test is amazing and she is still an occasional resource for us to this day. She helped introduce us to great providers and more importantly gave us hope that with proper therapy our child will develop to his full capability.

My two children went to BWS. While there were several aspects that were delightful including…read morespecific teachers and the community, as some of the only people of color - it was a very damaging experience. Unfortunately, one of the faculty that was responsible for the most humiliation and damage is still teaching at the school. That is quite unfortunate. I would not recommend the school for BIPOC kiddos.

Bright Water is no ordinary school, so do read up on Waldorf education before submitting your…read moreapplication. It is a philosophy, a special attitude toward education that you need to share in order to appreciate what Bright Water has to offer. This is what got our son going there... and the reason why we did not re-enroll for next year. Our son went to Bright Water for Kindergarten and academically he hardly benefited much, though all the time they spent outdoors (rain or shine!) helped build up his agility and aided his physical development big time. Apart from occasional drawing and small projects, do not expect your kids to learn reading, writing, or counting. It is simply not on the agenda yet (I believe, until they are seven) if you start with K. The pros: 1. Great kids, great families, good teachers. 2. It's a small school where you will know most people and kids, and they will know you (and your child!). 3. Hot lunch on Mondays and Fridays, and overall food is mostly natural, organic, and high-quality. 4. Good after school program. The cons: 1. A ton of breaks and service days when you would have to figure out what to do for childcare (many more than any other school I know!). 2. No academic focus whatsoever in K and first grade 3. Very little expectation - it is okay for kids to pretty much do nothing 4. Awful parking for drop-off & pick up