My Kindergartener comments out-of-blue several times a week that he loves his school and said this morning he wishes he could rate it, so here we are :) I'm extremely happy with the school: It seems all the lower school specialists manage to work physical activity into their lessons, children are treated with respect and have SEL built into daily activities. The teachers and staff are highly conscientious, constantly revising their curriculum and methods based on outcomes, the latest in educational research, and community feedback. Just driving onto campus each morning feels good, because everything is done so well. The active and supportive parent community is wonderful. Lots of helpful parent Ed talks and resources (and plenty of nerdy, type A parents as you might imagine, that tend to knock whatever task they've volunteered for out of the park). Of course, each year is going to be different depending on the mix of parents, students, and faculty but the institutional structure of constant improvement and community involvement is one of the best I've seen. I also really appreciate the fact that my son is now middle-of-the-pack in terms of intellect and assertiveness, finding friends with similar interests and abilities. And I've been able to relax around the other parents who share similar experiences of parenting exceptional kids. Hope this is helpful; I know picking a school is a big decision and the cost is significant. All I can say it that we really love Open Window. read more

Open Window School Is a mediocre school, As a current student it excels in programs for gifted students and for kids in need of special help. However, it lacks in some areas, it does not provide enough support to kids with mental health struggles and passes over kids they do not consider diverse. other than that, the teachers are the best teachers I have ever come to know and they always make sure that you will excel. overall open window is a mediocre school that is great if you are diverse and gifted. read more

We love Open Window School. The school really focuses on all-round development of each kid. Our younger one went from a shy little girl to a confident young lady and we've seen the same happen to some of her peers too. She's developed deep interests in multiple extra-curricular activities and cultivated meaningful friendships. Meanwhile, her standard tests have been consistently off the charts. Many of her peers are among the brightest kids we've seen. There is a review that says "students at OWS lag behind public school peers". I completely disagree. Many of the kids had gotten into public school gifted programs and decided to come to OWS. In terms of academics, I'd say it all depends on parents' expectations. If you think your kids are gifted so they must learn calculus or rocket science in elementary school, then you will definitely be disappointed. If you believe 1 hour of homework for a 2nd grader is a must-have, then there are other schools that fit the bill. The new Head of School was the former middle school director at Lakeside. So far I think she's done a great job, despite the fact that she started the job at the worst possible time - in the mid of a pandemic. One thing I really wish OWS could offer is lunch, but the school doesn't have a kitchen or cafeteria - a questionable decision of the original designer of the campus. read more

I've a proud parent of multiple OWS students, and I have a background in education. I can confidently say that OWS is the premier school for gifted education in Seattle, if not the entire PNW. My children are very different, ranging from profoundly gifted (99.9%) to "merely" gifted (96%) and OWS has strongly challenged and supported their very diverse needs. My children also range from neurotypical to highly neurodiverse with multiple additional diagnoses. OWS has gone above and beyond with learning supports and compassion for my neurodiverse student, not just academically, but social supports as well. We have been through dozens of OWS teachers (yes, turnover is an issue - show me an industry where it isn't, especially when you have such high-quality faculty) and we have yet to experience even a mediocre teacher, let alone a bad one. They have all demonstrated a commitment to specializing in gifted education and an understanding the unique needs of each child. If you are lucky enough to attend this school, your student will be known, supported, challenged, and will grow in maturity and confidence. If your goal is to advance your student to Algebra II at the fastest pace, onward to Lakeside, Nat'l Merit Scholarships, and Harvard, then save your money for RSM and Kumon. But if you care about the entirety of your child's development, this is the place for you. Finally, as a multicultural family, we have been less than impressed with other private schools in the area giving only lip service to diversity and inclusion. OWS walks the walk. Their diversity numbers for students are outstanding (majority minority), financial aid is generous, and the administration consistently shows a commitment to DEI by listening and supporting all students, whether they be LGBQ, transgender, religious diversity, differently abled, etc. No school is perfect, and the gifted population is a challenging one (with even more challenging, demanding parents!) But I have been amazed with the quality of education my children receive, the caring and empathetic social cohort of students, the creative and driven faculty, and the innovative administration. If you want the gold standard in gifted education, and if you are lucky enough to gain acceptance, then OWS will be the best gift you can give to your child. read more

OWS is not the school it was pre-pandemic. Like many schools, kids fell behind. Unfortunately, this school didn't do anything about it. It's becoming clear that current challenges are a reflection of the new administration's focus on appearances. If you want to say my child goes to a gifted school, OWS is the place. If you want your kids to have a solid education, look elsewhere. As another reviewer stated, OWS' niche is the 96-98 percentile and not the truly gifted. High teacher turnover, lack of communication, and poor curriculum development is affecting students who supplement outside of school with Kumon and tutoring. Although the kids are "above grade level", the Bridges math program leaves gaps and students lag behind public school peers. The school would benefit from focusing on fundamentals like academics and teacher development rather than taking over parent led activities. Right now, you are more likely to get a liberal tirade in the school newsletter than anything of pedagogical substance. read more

Head of school is trying to make OWS a Lakeside equivalent and is missing the mark. School lacks substance and differentiation. Would no longer call it a school for gifted. Terrible 4th grade experience. Teacher had limited capability to teach beyond provided material, created an environment where anxiety ran rampant, neglected to stay connected to parents. Concerns went unaddressed. Would expect the school to have more oversight. read more

We are in our 6th year as OWS parents with two kids at the school. It's a terrific environment and top-notch education for our daughters. We won't forget the first day we walked in the classroom. It's a fascinating combination of high expectations and a nurturing, loving energy that allows kids to stretch and even fail gracefully. We have witnessed first-hand the impact of individualized learning, inspired teaching, and excellent support for social emotional development of our kids. Our experience has not wavered since that first day. Perhaps the best possible review is that our kids love school. They literally bounce into the classroom each day. We both had first-class eductions from private K-12 to Ivy League schools and we feel that some of the best teachers we've encountered are at OWS. Further, the administration has been extremely responsive to classroom social issues. We have even received personal calls at home from the head of school to check on issues that were reported the same day. We feel grateful to be part of the OWS community of teachers and parents and would recommend it to anyone looking for a place to love and challenge their kids. read more

I'm surprised to see the negative feedback posted for OWS. My child is thriving there and his teachers are very engaged with him and certainly address his gifted needs. They focus on a holistic approach to the child. They not only look to his educational needs and encourage him to move to the next level but also focus on helping him relate to the world when his intellectual understanding of it exceeds his ability to emotionally process what has occurred. read more

My son is a recent graduate from OWS. I'm very surprised to read couple of negative reviews here. We were transferred to OWS from the east coast. During the application/interviewing process, my son just fell in love with the school. Luckily, he was accepted to attend. The OWS curriculum isn't for everyone. It's designed to be more vigorous than the public school system. The teachers we had were extremely caring in the children's development. They were definitely way beyond my expectations. The emphasis on time management has made a huge difference in high school. Now my son is at Lakeside High School. The experience at OWS has better prepared him for another challenging school than his peers. I'm not a big donor. In fact, I've never attended the annual auction event! I don't understand the statement regarding the monetary importance. Yes, it's a private school that requires tuition. But I truly believe that teachers are extremely caring regardless. If you are looking for a private school for your child, schedule a visit with the school and see for yourself. There is a right school for your child and hopefully this is the right one for you. It sure was for my son! read more

This school looks beautiful to the drive by observer but the curriculum and teachers do not make the rank. Little emphasis on meeting a gifted child's individual needs, lots of time spent on group projects seeking to bring out creativity stopping short of in depth learning. Definitely an environment where donators are sought over educational excellence.... Too much precious staff hours spent on seeking out donations, ranking classes accoriding to parental donations, seeking parent financial support of building fund, and continuous publication of the latest family donations in the weekly newsletter. I chose to opt out after a couple of years of hoping the school vision would change! --Submitted by a parent read more

If you are reading this review of Open Window School (OWS), then I can assume that you, as a parent, are currently and actively searching for an educational option that embraces the challenge of instructing and guiding children who are considered "Gifted"---or more accurately: "Highly Intellectually Capable". As a parent of a "Highly Capable" child, we recognized very early on (age 2) that ours was a little different from his playground buddies. As our full-throttle-every-day child grew to the age of 4 and we were contemplating educational options for Kindergarten, we toured the local public schools as well as several local Eastside and Seattle area private schools. Our Preschool Teacher mentioned that she thought that Open Window School might be a really good fit for our son. For our needs (and most importantly, the needs of our child), OWS simply offered the best fit academically, socially, physically and philosophically. The bottom line is that my ever-energetic, ever-curious, ever-positive and ever-challenging (in ways both good and bad) child LOVES to go to school at OWS every single day--asks the carpool driver to arrive to school early (!!), please. His friends are there, he feels supported and appreciated by the teachers and support staff...he loves the campus and the variety and quality of the learning materials--technological, artistic, scientific, and otherwise. He has never loved homework, but as a fifth grader in the first year of Middle School (Vista) at Open Window School, he has finally embraced the responsibility and reality of its place in the learning process. He is being encouraged to be more independent (by us and the school), and is well aware that there are boundaries--necessary and purposeful--to help him know when his choices and behaviors are appropriate and helpful to his (and his fellow students) development, and when they are not. When we started at OWS--six year ago--I was thankful that this school existed and that we made it through the rigorous entrance dance (this school has many more applicants than spaces available each year, for each grade level...and strives for gender balance as well as cultural diversity) and we continue to be grateful for the commitment that OWS has to our child (and the other 300+ fellow students) each and every day he attends. For our family, Open Window School is simply the best educational option available to keep our child's "Love of Learning" vital and whole, while we--as a team: school and parents--prepare him for High School, College and adult life beyond. read more

I have mix thoughts on Open Windows. I have a 99.99% IQ test score child. The school works with kids from 95%-99%. The needs for a child in the top 1% if very different than the top 5% child in terms of gifted scale. I can definitely see the 95-97% kids thriving in this school. I'm not so sure about the 99+% child. My child has done ok in the school, but I would say majority of his teachers did not understand him and/or get his individual needs. They're not at the caliber that I had hoped, but they are good enough to provide a fun and educational environment, not more. I was most disappointed with his 3rd grade teacher. I call her a 'fair weather' teacher. She's good to lecture, but hands-on teaching....not her forte. Also, I agree with Mary S' comment. The school does focus too much on donation. I find their fund raising staff is inept, inefficient and ineffective at managing the entire function. The volunteer parent sometimes donate more to the project than the funds that are raised. Just plan bad management in this regards, a bit more strategy and business focus would help. read more

We joined the OWS community nearly 4 years ago when our daughter entered second grade. After some struggles in multiple public school systems, we were looking to find school that would help restore our daughter's love of learning while providing a challenging academic environment. We have found OWS to be an ideal environment for our daughter. She has thrived academically and successfully developed strong relationships with her fellow students and many members of the faculty. OWS' focus on differentiation (as opposed to pure acceleration) and the continuous attention to social & emotional development has established an environment where our daughter is encouraged to test her capabilities while also providing a safe setting for her to "be herself." The teachers, faculty and administration have been consistently open and receptive to feedback. We have partnered with multiple teachers to help enhance our daughter's experiences or address challenges in the classroom. Based on our successes to date, we recently decided to enroll our son at OWS and he is now having a similarly positive experience in kindergarten. While there are a number of options for education in the area, we believes the OWS is the best option for our family. Our children are not only engaged and thriving, but they are also developing the skills and capabilities that will prepare them for higher education and their adult lives. read more

My Son's experience at Open Window was exceptional. If we (or our son) had to remake the decision today, we would without question pick Open Window again. What an exceptional program that I wish every child could benefit from. The teachers set a fast pace which our son loved. He recently graduated and was accepted to many top high schools including his top pick, Seattle Academy. Students from OWS are sought out by top local high schools because they succeed at a high level. My son's preparation for High School was excellent and I believe that OWS has set the stage for a successful college experience as well. Some other thoughts - If you want your child to be grilled and drilled to the extreme, this is not the school. My son gets top grades, top assessment scores, and has only increased his love of learning. His intellectual and social / emotional maturity have grown in tandem at OWS. When your child graduates from OWS, they will likely be more mature than their peers. Also, my son would point out that you generally have to do your sports / extra curricular activities outside of OWS - the limitations of a smaller, private school. The teachers are brilliant and talented educators that really inspire. They are there because they want to be and it shows. I know most of the parents from his OWS class. From all discussions I have had, they felt very lucky to have their child attend OWS. I was surprised by those that posted on Yelp about aggressive fundraising, I never saw that in any measure and our son was there for nine years. Those people who posted may simply not be used to private organizations that do rely on additional support and have annual fundraising events. In time, talent or treasure, there are lots of ways to support your school, public or private. If your child qualifies for OWS, I would encourage you to evaluate the school. Ask to speak to eighth grade parents as well as parents whose kids are near to the grade your child will enter at. My belief is that my comments here will be echoed and expanded on. read more

My family has been at the school for 9 years with both of our children attending. We would not make this kind of investment without complete faith in the school. Both of our children have been well cared for both academically and emotionally. As a therapist, the school's attention to the social/emotional needs of gifted learners was evident when they added a second school counselor to focus on the needs of their middle school students. Our children have been challenged, nurtured and cared for and so have we. As parents, we feel heard by the school. The administration has worked with us through any concern we have brought to their attention. We also feel they have challenged and supported the moral development of our children by helping them to address their own behaviors and take ownership for their mistakes. As a child of a school administrator, I feel that Open Window School's leadership has always acted in a professional and supportive manner when working with our family. Not only do they provide an environment that supports rich academic challenge but also opportunity for our children to safely make mistakes and grow from these experiences. I am surprised to see reviews stating that you must donate large amounts of money to get any attention from the school. We have never found this to be true. There have been years where we were unable to donate or even attend the school auction but we have never felt as if our children were treated poorly as a result. read more

The secretary is rude, condescending, and assuming. I shutter to think how badly I would of been treated as a first-time visitor had a parent *not* called ahead to let them know I was coming. Wow. I went to private schools K-12 and also sent my children to private schools and have never been treated like that! I could cut the snootiness with a knife, it was so thick! Parents, let your kids be kids while they still can be! They have their whole lives to become doctors and lawyers! Let's not rush it lest ye burn them out before they even start their first day of college! read more

For my son's early years I thought that OWS was a good place. Then when he was in 4th grade he began having panic attacks and missed school due to this temporary mental health crisis and because of the side effects of medication we were trying to help keep the attacks in check. Instead of working with us to help him get through this, he was kicked out, without even suggesting that he get tutoring for the summer. I imagine that with this special population of kids, anxiety is an issue that should be openly addressed, not shunned. But having him kicked out was just one of many problems I had with the school. First of all, I had to sign a paper that I myself would get counseling, which seems outside the ken of their responsibilities. Secondly, the lower school administrator, Sherry Brown (who is referred to by a Facebook friend as "Sherry F***ing Brown"), decided to pay a visit to my house. However she didn't come to the door, but rather walked around the house, and as it was not up to her standards (never mind that she was trespassing), she decided to call CPS. The director, Jeff Stroebel, could certainly not be considered gifted in his own right (a far cry from the wise and articulate Wilder Dominic who was head of school when my son started)... I am really not sure what qualifies him to lead a school for gifted kids. His only contribution seemed to be Sports Friday" where kids and staff are supposed to wear Seahawks jerseys or whatnot...something my son couldn't care less about and actually found vexing (as gifted kids are wont to think these things through) because of the high price of this gear, and the money going to the sports corporations. Obviously not something on Stroebel's mind. In addition to all of this, the school's wonderful amazing kindergarten teacher, Richard Gawne, decided he'd like to teach an older grade, 2nd or 3rd. Instead of granting him his well-deserved wish, they fired him...losing Mr. Gawne brought the school down several notches. All that being said, the other families are very friendly. Just wish the staff would show a fraction of the giftedness seen in the kids. read more

The campus is beautiful and there iis a tag line of understanding giftedness and social emotional needs. However, we found this not the be the case. My son was in public school before Open Window and is now in public school after Open Window. At both of these public schools, the teachers understood him better and he thrived socially better.. At Open Window, there was a lot of pressure to be perfect and not be kids. Kids cut in line, kids will get in word fights, it happens. But at Open Window, kids must walk the line and, if not, are shamed. It was not a good experience and we withdrew after a year. I was also surprised at how little time the teachers put in compared to public school. I honestly think the public school teachers we have had work harded, stay later, etc. There was an extreme amount of pressure of money as well, but this is to be expected from a private school. The head is school was behind the money and teachers, did not listen to parent concerns by numerous parents. read more

The school has been a life-saver for my two boys who are gifted. My eldest son started at a public school for Kdg. which was a terrible fit. His giftedness was an inconvenience since he did not fit the mold of a typical Kindergartener. Then he was at his first private school for 1st & 2nd grade. They could not challenge him enough and did not know how to accommodate his social/emotional challenges. We moved him to OWS in 3rd grade & he stayed until graduation (8th grade). The staff appreciated not just my son's giftedness, but his quirkiness & creativity. My second son has been at OWS 1st-8th grade. Though he has a very different personality from his older brother, we've been just as pleased with his time at OWS. Both of my boys have thrived in this setting. I only wished I had found OWS earlier and would highly recommend it to any parents seeking an appropriate, warm, & challenging setting for their child who is gifted. read more