This school has been a game changer for my kids. Public school wasn't working for us, and private…read moreschool tuition was out of reach. Neurodivergent and gender fluid kids and their families can find a welcoming and loving community here. My oldest transferred here to finish out their 5th grade year, as they were being beaten down by a public school setting that could not accommodate her needs. On day one at Bridge School I saw her relax and become themself again. Now our kindergartener goes to school at Bridge and loves it! The outdoor education component is especially important to us, as we spent their pre-K years at an outdoor preschool, and I wanted to continue fostering that love and connection with nature. All the teachers and staff care so deeply for each child, and do their best to meet them where they are at. Then there is the community of families here. I can't imagine facing the world and raising my children with a better, more open, and loving group of people. It's the chosen family of our dreams. If you are looking for a fresh start for your kid(s), and want to be part of a great community that loves and supports each other, join The Bridge School!

The Bridge School - Seattle, WA…read more Our family joined The Bridge School with a deep belief in its mission: a cooperative learning environment grounded in restorative justice, clear communication, and community involvement. Sadly, our actual experience was far from what was advertised. From the beginning, we faced repeated challenges with understaffing, unclear expectations, and inconsistent communication. As caregiver volunteers, we often found ourselves performing janitorial work and covering critical supervision gaps with little support. These staffing issues culminated in a deeply troubling incident where our child was denied access to the bathroom during recess due to a lack of available adults -- resulting in a completely avoidable and traumatic accident. When we tried to address this respectfully with the teacher, we were shut out. Despite multiple attempts to reconcile, we were denied a conversation and told we could no longer volunteer in the classroom -- a painful blow, especially for a school that claims to value cooperative engagement. Even more disappointing was the school's failure to follow the very standards and principles it promotes. The leadership later acknowledged, in writing, that they lacked clear policies around volunteering, communication, and accountability. While they publicly promised relationship repair and structural improvements, none of those efforts were ever extended to our family. Out of concern for our children's well-being, we made the difficult decision to withdraw them from the classroom on most days and pay out of pocket for private tutoring to ensure continuity in their education. We sincerely hope The Bridge School takes its own commitments seriously moving forward -- but families deserve a school that operates with transparency, safety, and follow-through. Ours simply did not get that. -- A Bridge School Parent Family

If you are looking for a school that equips children for the tools they need in an increasingly…read moreunstable world, this is it! And they do it , while providing a fun, caring and strong community for all. Westside school moved into a permanent home a few years ago and hired a new head of school a few years before the pandemic. These changes have supported the school into a solid place for a child to learn and be amongst others. The balance between academics and Social emotional skills is good and the school has a wealth of talented and dedicated teachers and staff who care about education, the world and making positive change. There is nothing better than seeing my child run to school every morning. We have been there 4 years and I was hesitant to go to an independent school at first. I didn't grow up rich and was concerned. This is truly a great community of people who want to make a difference in the world and value children being seen for who they are.

I feel grateful that my children have the opportunity to be part of the Westside community. Great…read moreteachers, great learning and the other parents are cool too. I'm truly impressed.

I love this school so much. Between entering preschool and now (5th grade), my son has attended…read morefour elementary schools. This one is, by far, my favorite--he has been seen, included, & loved from day 1. He enrolled as a McKinney-Vento student last year while we were blessed enough to figure out a temporary housing situation. His school has a rating of 2/10 on the main school review websites. It is a Title I school with majority low income families, 78% of students being non-white, and almost 20% of students having IEPs or 504 plans. All students qualify for free/reduced lunch & are sent home on Fridays with a packed bag of weekend meals. The curriculum and day-to-day has been full of color, curiosity, and neurodivergent-friendly practices. He hasn't encountered any weirdness around having queer parents at this school & this is the first place we haven't had to educate his educators on alternatives to addressing parent labels, family tree assignments, father's day art, and the like. They talk about consent and non-violence and mutual respect and pronouns and gender diversity and make space for cultural celebration. Just a friendly reminder that school ratings systems are racist, classist, & ableist. Grateful for the universe leading us exactly where we needed to be & grateful for the educators who show up despite the limited tools they have to work with and make. it. happen. Extra special shout outs to Mr. Hakeem & Ms. Turner.

I went to this school and it sucked the Rome trip was honestly stupid I got blamed for something I…read moredidn't do and they didn't let us do anything fun if you want to pay 28k just for the school then 3.5k just for the Rome trip. Then they just ask you for money. The worst thing is that we learn Latin. Why did I go to this school? Idk. We have more latin classes than we do social studies which is just absurd considering only the smart ah people are going to do latin in highschool. Waste of money, they never get anything cool for playing sports or anything outside. We kept asking for a basketball hoop on the west blacktop but they never gave it THEN some kid idk who, asks for a freaking gaga ball pit. Also if they ever redo the field so it's not an ankle trap... contact me!. Small ah school, horrendous latin program, waste of money. Some of the teachers are really nice though! SOME.

Not only was the math far behind the public curriculum to the point that I need three years worth…read moreof tutoring but the science was so basic that I spent 8 years learning the water cycle over and over again. Once I was told that plasma was not a state of matter due to the fact that there are only three states of matter (because of the holy trinity bull shit) another time I saw children being punished for asking basic questions such as "why do we think god exists". The teachers are not very well prepared for actual teaching and some quit mid-year. On Fridays girls are only allowed to wear some form of skirt and not pants. We are taught that god is great and makes no mistakes but not about why or how. Children learn to not ask questions. I was punished for asking questions. At one point we were told never to play an imaginary game for it led to sin and I was then suspended for playing a game wear I pretended I was a wolf. Other times I remember being disqualified from a contest because my art work showed something other then a religious figure another time my book was disqualified from a state contest because it has talking animals in it. My metal health was questioned by a teacher because I wrote about a talking animal (normal for a 3rd grader) I was in constantly bullying with no one to step in and help me. I was told On a daily basis that I was a horrible person, that I was sinful, that I was going to hell. I was pressed into being baptized into a religion I did not follow out of pure fear to speak out for myself. The staff and kids are homophobic, transphobic and in general very mean. The dress code is extremely sexist to women. To bible is taught as fact, instead of science being taught as fact. To this day I've been going through 4 years of therapy because I was given sever depression and anxiety because of this school. I had a teacher duct tape my mouth closed and was told they could do whatever because they are my supervisor. I've seen kids taped to their seats. I was hit and pushed and thrown. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE. For the staff members reading this, GO FUCK YOURSELVES Because I'll see you in hell. Sincerely, I hope my name comes back to haunt you little shits -Korinne smith