Ok I'm going to balance the bad reviews with some realism. High school is rough for some and can be…read morea difficult time. However, my experience at Ballard grew me into a successful adult and the caring staff and well planned curriculum prepared me to excel at university and beyond. There will always be all sorts in high school, but Ballard did a wonderful job preparing me to be a contributing member of society. If I still lived in Seattle I would send my own kids here.

One of Ballard's fellow students here--just thought I could pitch in my two cents about this place…read more I think it'd be good to get to know this place from a students point of view. I've been going here for two years now, currently in my Sophomore year which has been an interesting journey. I had a few first hard months when I got here because a majority of my friends had gone to Ingraham. I quickly became familiar with the building as it's pretty geometrically shaped and easy to navigate. I had no trouble finding my classes and the "pods" as they call them are very easy to find, same with the classes within this pods. The teachers though, are really a hit or miss. You either get a fantastic teacher who is willing to interact with their students and engage academically as well as socially with them--at the right time of course. Then you can wind up with someone that doesn't have any charisma or, by the looks of it, no motivation to teach at all. I imagine that there is a middle ground somewhere in there but from my experience and others, it seems to be one or the other. The admin, for the most part, are amazing. Extremely helpful and most of the time, can come to a resolution to whatever you're dealing with. My counselor, (which is curated by last name) Mr. Kramer was very helpful when I came in to talk about my classes and succeeding academically. He gave me insight into what could be best for me to do to achieve and I think it's worked out great. Even though I did have a speed bump with one of the VP's, I can still say that the admins are great. Now, it's not really my place to tell someone how this school is by the way the people are because everyone has different personal experiences, but there is one large recurring problem in this place. The drug and alcohol abuse is extremely prominent and is honestly something I hate having to deal with. I know what the adults will say; "it's high school, people will experiment." At the level it's at here, this isn't experimenting. I get when students want to try marijuana or cigarettes but I think it's well past experimentation when you have kids dealing cocaine, meth and other hardcore drugs right outside at the bus stop. Same with the buying and selling of alcohol, it can happen right in front of a faculty and they'll do nothing, at most just give the kid a slap on the wrist. The overall environment of this school is gloomy. I can have fun but at the same time it's just sad. There are classrooms with no windows and the tint of the tungsten lights can just put you to sleep. That is why I enjoy being on the second floor where windows line of the top of the hallways and let some natural light in. Anyways, thanks for reading this if you do.

My son had the pleasure of attending St. Al's this past school year. It was his first exposure to…read morepre-k so my husband and I were slightly nervous about the transition, but our nerves were quickly eased as soon as we became acquainted with the staff. Our son was extremely emotional for the first couple weeks, but the Montessori teacher along with her aides, really worked with us and remained patient with him and communicative with us. It truly put us at ease and made the transition so much easier. Our son ended up absolutely loving St. Al's. We even loved all the events and activities that kept us busy- they really make you feel like you're part of a community. The only reason why we left is because we moved to another state, but we couldn't have asked for a better experience. I would wholeheartedly recommend St. Al's to anyone!

This school is truly amazing. Every child is known. Each child has value and purpose within the…read moreschool. I'm disappointed to see a bad review from 7 years ago. I can confidently say that St. Alphonsus is nothing like that review. It's gone through many changes including a new principal and vice principal who are deeply committed to the well-being and growth of the school. St. Alphonsus has a half-day preschool class and two full-day preschool classes which shows how much this school is growing! St. Al's is diverse and welcoming of all religions and family dynamics. There have been many positive changes over the years leading to the beautiful school it has become!

A true hidden gem. Warmly recommend for anyone looking for a school that fosters creativity and…read morelearning and really engages the kids. I can only echo the other reviews here -- phenomenal art and science programs, daily hour of park time, and kids get to mix with different ages for lunch, play and reading. We also love the strong emphasis on reading. Instead of homework, kids come home with one book to read every day. Our son went from deciphering 3 letter words to reading books within weeks of starting K at Matheia. All this without screens. And where else do you get to build a rocket and launch it at the park!

We are part of the school and moved from a local public school where we completed kindergarten. We…read morelove the school. Among its strengths: project based education (kids get depth of learning rather than transactionally hopping across disjointed exercises and concepts every 10 mins), low student to teacher ratio (which means teachers are not stressed, truly attuned, and can tailor approaches for each student), very strong and friendly parent community, phenomenal art and emotional development program.

It is important for families to understand that if you enroll your child at Pacific Crest, you are…read moresigning a contract obligating you to pay the full year of tuition and forfeit your deposit regardless of how the school handles communication or concerns prior to enrollment. I believe it is important for prospective families to have a clear understanding of what they may encounter before making such a significant financial and emotional commitment for their child. We first attended an information session in 2025 and later met with the school with the intention of enrolling our four-year-old daughter for January 2026. During the admissions process, the director was attentive, responsive, and reassuring , effectively an excellent sales lady. We were repeatedly told that the school valued communication, community, and a child-centered approach, which strongly influenced our decision to enroll. Unfortunately, once we signed the contract in August and paid tuition, the level of communication changed dramatically. In November, I reached out to the school seeking guidance regarding our daughter's upcoming January start date, including next steps, meeting her teacher, and understanding what supplies or preparations were needed. I received no response. After following up a second time and again receiving no response, we finally heard back nearly three weeks and three emails later with a generic reply stating that the classroom teacher would contact us within two days with additional information. Unfortunately, that follow-up never came. By this point, we were becoming increasingly frustrated by the ongoing lack of communication and professionalism. Over winter break, the continued absence of communication led us to seriously reconsider whether this was the right environment for our daughter. It became difficult to feel confident placing our child in a school that struggled to provide even basic communication and follow-through during the enrollment process, especially after emphasizing those values so heavily during admissions. We eventually met with the director the same week our daughter was supposed to begin attending. She apologized for the communication issues and at that point, the alternative presented to us was a meeting with the financial department regarding our contractual financial obligations to the school. Wanting to remain open-minded and hopeful that the experience itself might ultimately be different than the enrollment process had been, we decided to move forward with a classroom observation before making a final decision. We decided to complete a classroom observation so we could better understand the environment and meet the teacher, whom we still had not heard from directly prior to our daughter's anticipated start date. Although the observation was brief, several aspects of the classroom gave us pause. Most concerning was the aloofness and emotional coldness the primary teacher exhibited toward the children. She appeared disengaged and minimally interactive with the students throughout our visit. More broadly, the classroom atmosphere itself felt unexpectedly disconnected. There seemed to be very little sense of joy, warmth, friendship, or community among the children -- something I would have expected to see naturally develop among four- and five-year-olds who had reportedly spent anywhere from six months to over a year together. As a parent, it was difficult not to notice how emotionally disconnected the environment felt overall. Frankly, the children did not appear especially happy, engaged, or socially connected. After the observation, we briefly met with the teacher. The director was not present at the school that day and was unavailable to speak with us. What ultimately solidified our decision not to move forward was the teacher's statement that she generally does not communicate with parents outside of scheduled conferences, though she could "make an exception" if necessary. As parents preparing for our daughter's first school experience, we did not feel it was unreasonable to hope for occasional communication regarding how she was adjusting socially and emotionally. Following the visit, we sent three follow-up emails to the director requesting communication regarding our concerns and asking whether our deposit could be refunded. We never received a response. Regardless of contractual policies, the continued lack of follow-through, responsiveness, and professionalism throughout this process was deeply disappointing and ultimately very upsetting for our family. On a positive note, our daughter is now thriving at a neighborhood preschool with warm, engaged teachers and a classroom culture filled with genuine connection among the children. The experience has only highlighted for us the stark contrast between the sense of warmth and community we now see daily and the emotional coldness and disconnection we witnessed during our experience at Pacific Crest

We believed Pacific Crest would be a strong fit for our daughter because of her independence,…read morecreativity, and love of learning. During the admissions process, the director presented the school as warm, welcoming, communicative, and child-centered. Unfortunately, our experience was the opposite. The communication from the school became extremely poor once we enrolled. After observing the primary classroom and developing serious concerns about the emotional environment, we reached out multiple times to discuss what we had witnessed. Despite several emails, the director and primary teacher never responded. I ultimately had to go to the school in person to address our concerns. During our 45-minute classroom observation, we saw multiple troubling interactions. One young boy sat isolated in a chair by himself for the entire observation without engagement, support, or invitation from the teacher to join activities. Another child arrived late and was completely ignored by the teacher -- no greeting, acknowledgment, or warmth. The overall classroom atmosphere felt emotionally cold, separated, and institutional rather than nurturing or interactive for primary school-age children experiencing their first school environment. When I raised these concerns in person, the director dismissed them and suggested that ignoring the child who arrived late may have been part of a "behavioral plan." We found that explanation deeply concerning and inappropriate for young children. What was most disappointing was not only the classroom environment itself, but how our family was treated afterward. Our concerns were ignored, communication was nonexistent, and the school refused to return our deposit despite the circumstances. I genuinely worry about the emotional impact this environment may have on children and whether prospective families are receiving an accurate picture of the school experience before enrolling.

My younger sister and I used to go to BF Day, and our baby sister goes there now, and let me tell…read moreyou, that is dang good school. It's a small-ish school (as most elementary schools are) in Fremont, near the Woodland Park Zoo. BF Day is rather diverse in all meanings of the word, and does a good job of teaching kids that everyone is important and loved. The parents are generally lovely, as are the teachers, though many of my favorite staff members have retired. It can be a bit of a hippy school, but that is far from a negative, it just encourages kids to explore their creative sides and embrace themselves. I haven't heard a single negative thing about BF Day, though I do know that due to some zoning issues, a lot of kids have lost their transportation, which is a majorly sucky, but I don't believe that the school is at fault there. tl;dr BF Day is pretty much the best and everyone who went there loved it

NOT CLOSED, people! Not at all! When I moved my boys and me…read morenorthward from Portland to Seattle, I had researched the "cluster" school system (never was a name more appropriate for a system or situation), though my research was clearly insufficient. Because I made certain that I moved into what I thought would be the perfect cluster for my kids' schooling needs and profile...I just failed to realize that would make no difference whatsoever to where they went to school. My boys are half hispanic, and I wanted very much to continue with the Spanish language education I only sporadically inflict on them at home. So I moved into the Laurelhurst-ish "cluster." What Seattle did not advertise is that its school zoning situation is not just a cluster, but the mother of all godforsaken clusters. They found no availability in any ONE school for both my boys. That's because clusters at the time were only "suggestions" of where kids could attend schools. Suggestions that were largely completely ignored, and no matter where you lived in Seattle, your kid could be bussed into nearly any zone at all. So you can basically move your family onto a tent settlement ATOP a particular school, and not be allowed to enroll in it until the 300-child wait list of kids from a school 15 miles away takes their priority. W, as the kids say, TF. So the last years have been a constant cluster indeed, with my boys in two different schools and and in and out of several. Having tried or toured quite a few schools in the area now, I can say, this one is my favorite elementary school in Seattle so far. My son has a wonderful teacher, Miss Jackson (and yes, it is so punishingly hard not to say, or at least think, "If you're nasty!" every time I say her name) who despite being forced, as all teachers are, to teach to a strict test curriculum imposed by the lowest-common-denominator-encouraging "No Child Left Behind" legislation, is still highly dynamic, wildly flexible, and very encouraging of creativity in all its manifestations. I absolutely love her, and I love the diversity of the students and the parents--a graceful blend of the privileged and the struggling, chaotic and the orderly, the uber-hippies and the uber-hipsters who all somehow manage to be very empathic and very likable. It also sits at just the right notch on the spectrum of academic rigor. We tried John Stanford International with Nico, and he called them "The Von Trapp Family Singers." Whistles to encourage hallway lineups? No talking in the corridors? Boys' and Girls' lines for 5th graders? No dark sarcasm? In the CLASSROOM?! Yikes. Plus every mom I met there without a single exception kind of gave me the impression that the only hard decision she has to make in any three-week period is whether to give her cook, nanny and housekeeper massages or Lush bars as holiday gifts. I'm extremely grateful for this school and for how happy Maximo is to attend it. Teaching excellence here is clearly valued, as is parental involvement. If you're in the area AND in the market for an elementary school, stop in and say hi. They're great people.

Salmon Bay k-8 does their best to keep their students engaged and learning. They care about the…read moremental mindset of their students with many activities throughout the year so school isn't just about writing on paper. They also have very good special education with many staff members jobs being dedicated to helping students learn they way that they want to. The one thing that I don't like about the school is the people who attend it. But to be honest, people ruin everything so I shouldn't be surprised.

this is school is actually It has great elective options as well as SEP and camp at the end of the…read moreyear! If this school closes I would actually cry!

My Alma Mater... I love the art stuff, and I really miss my 5th grade teacher Ms. Paulk, my 5th…read moregrade math teacher Mr Hertzog, the gym teacher Mr. Faucette, my 3rd grade teacher Mr. Barkley, and his equally awesome replacement Ms. Windus! A very high recommendation!

I filled out application for their summer program I was put on a waiting list and I was informed…read morethat once the enrollment program starts I will be contacted. I called and left a message but there was no follow up phone call from the school.

I went to the bush school for 7 years, and had to leave after my sixth grade year. The lower…read moreschool had it's problems, but it was mostly the middle school that was the reason for me leaving. The staff and teachers do not intervine bullying or physical fights. And I had a teacher that would bully me for the amusement of my classmate, and nothing was done about it in the end. My parents respectfully told the head of the middle school the problems, and he did absolutely nothing, and started trying to gaslight my family into thinking it was somehow fixed. The middle school counsellor was absolute garbage, she threatened to call the police on me when I stood I to leave her office to go to the bathroom after I got falsely accused of self harming in my science class. They were not flexible about teaching kids the way they need to be taught in order to learn. While I hadn't yet been diagnosed with autism I think that they still should have been more patient with me because it was obvious the way that they were teaching me, as well as a few other kids, in a way that worked for us. They also fired a bunch of beloved teachers for no good reason, and promoted a bunch of terrible teachers including one that was kind of racist. They have prided themselves about being inclusive to everyone, yet would not let me use the bathroom correlated with my gender identity because I'm trans. And they treated popular kids way bette. There's a TON of other problems with the bush school that I just don't want to get into right now, but I hope you get the point. I would put 0/5 stars if I could, I do not recommend this school at all.

My child is thriving academically and socially at this amazing school. Our family love being part…read moreof the community. We highly recommend this school.

We have been happily attending this school for the last 2.5 years. We're a small warm school with a…read morefantastic community. Though it is a Catholic school, most kids are not Catholic. All are welcome.

Drive by some day…read more This private school has expanded and grown so much since I volunteered and worked at after school day care in the almost '80's! The child-centered philosophy and a ver small class size were very clear when I was there. Children were being introduced to languages at a young age,. Supervision and individual learning were paramount. I shall likely visit again, and you knwo what? I bet I give it 5 then.

Bertschi is an incredible school! They truly care about and invest deeply in students. Kids are…read moreembraced as whole people and are developed on an emotional and academic level. The teachers are dedicated, capable and passionate, and the administration adds to the collaborative community feeling. The opportunities kids have for unique learning experiences is amazing. A built in drama, art and music program fosters creative learning along with math, science, reading, etc. Small groups settings are in constant use to ensure each kid is getting the specific material and attention they need to be challenged and supported. Most of all, they foster a community that values kindness and inclusivity. We are a proud Bertschi family.