11317 40th Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98125

There is a rich culture at this school that is undermined by a prevalent culture of social bullying. A cliquey exclusive culture exists amongst students that intentionally creates a sense of otherness for students on the outside. Despite anti bully lessons, social exclusion and mean behavior is the norm. This is reinforced by parent groups as well as do nothing attitudes amongst parents, teachers and administration. Despite the many positives of this school, my rating is quite low as every benefit is undermined by this culture. When students are actively excluded they do not feel safe, valued or accepted, significantly decreasing learning and emotional health.

We were happy to send our daughter to a racially and economically diverse school (the next nearest high school is anything but), and the teachers are really great. They create a culture of acceptance and inclusion. The only unfortunate issue that the school does actually have control over is that the front desk and administrative staff that help students and parents are...not nice. At all. They don't seem to be happy with their jobs and are unable to just reach the bare-minimum of friendly.

We had high hopes and had heard great things prior to 2019 from other families. The school has changed drastically since then due to SPS policies, so any review that pre-dates 2019 is no longer accurate. After having two students attend this school, we decided to leave the district. Academically, the school has very low standards. I don’t think they read a single book in 8th grade English class or wrote a single essay. Many students have no respect for the teachers, and the teachers are too young and inexperienced to do anything about it, or they are hobbled by anti-discipline, pro-inclusion policies that give teachers few tools for addressing disruptive behavior. There are a few teachers at the school that are wonderful, especially in the science department, but I found the constant gaslighting and dishonesty from leadership to be exhausting. Now that we have spent a year in another public middle school, where there is honest communication and where the staff really do want to see students to be challenged and to reach their full potential, I realize just how terrible and toxic this school really is!! I think the difference is largely policy/leadership driven (not demographically driven).