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.

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!

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 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!

It's NOT as bad as it was said to be. I feel bad for the school lol, it's fine. The building is…read moreold, the teachers are fine, but in reality the rest is classic poor middle school.

improve everything! jr. high is cruel to kids! all schools should be k-8! K-8 is more family feel…read moreand helps kids grow confidence in a space that is more friendly and secure! Jr high and middle school are the worst experiment on kids! Besides the school buses, those are horrible too! The education system knows this and if they don't they should be shut down! Cuz it all around sucks!

I went to Roosevelt and made many friends there. They have an amazing Jazz and Theatre program…read more However, their Choir teacher Mrs Kent was the worst teacher I ever had. She told me to stand up in front of my entire class to show them "how not to sing" knowing I had my wisdom teeth removed the day before. She was misogynistic, picked favorites and singled out the girls for laughing with each other before class. she said, "why would we expect men to respect us and not see us as objects when we act like that." Other than MRS KENT... Roosevelt was an amazing school.

This school has a great track and field that is open on the weekends. The parking wasn't an issue…read morefor me either. I would very much recommend this track to other runners.

Best k-dance club in the state who spread the vibe of joy, inclusion, and happy happyread more

The school is astonishingly mid if not below mid Would not…read morerecommend Lincoln high school

School is little bit on fire. The ppl there are amazing, though there are people who are kinda…read moreannoying but it's pretty good

Hamilton is a good school i guess a lot of ppl fight and like in the girls bathroom it's sometimes…read morea mess honestly making friends in this school is quiet easy (atleast for me) everyone is kind. The teachers are okay there are some who are just very strict so uhh !! Math is either confusing for me or she teaches us stuff that we already know but it's ok as long as i'm not having to do a lot of work i'm fine with it but like my math teacher be giving us test like once a month which is uhh A LOt. Sometimes when it's passing period everything is just wild like there is a lot of pushing and very crowded place also the passing period time is only 5 minutes and in my opinion i think that's a little too low for me, one of the biggest issue are the kids fighting like i'm just trying to get to my locker and then some kid fights and pushes me on my locker like what go do it somewhere else Lastly the lunch is like very nasty but there could be a random day when the lunch is just very good but that happens once in a while so..! I rate this school a 7/10

I'm a recent grad [2005] and there have been a lot of structural improvements since I left. Really,…read morethough, the building itself is inconsequential when compared to the amazing teachers there. Sure, there are duds in the staff, as there are in other schools, but when I visited a couple weeks ago, many teachers who I never even had recognized me and greeted me with hugs and congratulations on my impending graduation... and I wasn't exactly the type to stand out for any reason. This is a school where the faculty and staff seconds as a family, which may be awkward for those of us who are public school students beginning the private school track in high school. When I graduated there were only a handful of AP classes. From what I can tell, the course catalog hasn't really expanded much [read: at all] during that time. Blanchet is well known for its drama department, and I enjoyed my time participating in extracurriculars -- particularly choir and the Japanese club. Blanchet has four languages available, which is on par with public schools in the area -- German, Spanish, French and Japanese. Watanabe-sensei, the Japanese instructor, is amazing and makes language learning fun. Going from Blanchet to the UW was not a difficult transition. Although when I was in high school I wasn't particularly fond, I am glad that I had the experience of attending Blanchet and realize just how lucky I was to have such a nurturing teaching environment. God this sounds so cheesy! But it's true. Sure, like every school there are lots of improvements to be made -- but it could be worse. After all, it could be Prep ;)

One star because zero isn't an option, this is the reason I hate living in this neighborhood. Not…read moreonly do the parents of kids attending this school suck at driving and my kid can't walk to their school anymore because they've almost been hit over 10 times by students and parents alike but the students are terrible drivers and incredibly disrespectful of the community around them. Typically when you live next to a school sure there are some annoying things but you get the benefits of community spaces and groups. Not with this private religious school, all you get is knowing a catholic person somewhere is rich and no you can't use their field or gym. I want to move out of the neighborhood I've loved for 10 years because of this school. The staff I've contacted about this are incredibly rude. The students I have seen doing some incredibly questionable projects over the years. All in all, Blanchet makes this Seattle neighborhood absolute garbage.

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.