11503 Exeter Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98125

Recent reviews of this school are out of date. Dr. Casie Dimsey, the principal of 3 years, is passionate, energetic, attentive, and well loved by parents and teachers at the school. The teachers are the same core group for the last several years who live in the neighborhood and their own kids attended. The PTA is hardworking and runs STEM activities, art for every class, World Wide Culture Night, after school enrichment classes, math tutoring, funds field trips, and runs a food and clothing pantry along with emergency funds for families. Islandwood has happened twice since the pandemic and the MCC Swim Program is up and running full steam. We had a few rough years when 30% of our students departed for nearby choice schools while we resided in a temp building in Green Lake. Now we're back in the neighborhood with potentially the best building in the district. If you are passionate about neighborhood schools with tenured teachers and an energetic PTA, this is the place. The principal is obviously very important....but community and teachers matter too and this school has it all.

Nathan Hale High school is one of the most impeccable high schools in overall Seattle city. The best thing about this school are the teachers and the facilities. It’s diverse environment close to nature doesn’t give you the feel that you are actually living in the city. The school’s admission process is rigorous due to the competition ensuring only the best out of the best are admitted!

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).