20809 42nd Ave SE
Bothell, WA 98021

Our experience at this school was deeply disappointing. My son experienced what felt less like discipline and more like teachers using their authority in ways that were intimidating and unfair. Every child deserves to feel safe, respected, and supported at school. Unfortunately, that was not our experience here.

This school is an embarrassment to the Northshore School District’s portfolio. The sole reason that people support this school is because it looks very nice ON PAPER. The Harsh Reality of going to this school is that your kids will be one of two people:1. A kid in a group with others, staring others down and not including them in anything, as they are not the “type” for the group.2. A kid in what I can only describe as isolation. This person may have 2-3 friends, but will have difficulty fitting into other people's groups. The big idea is not about “fitting in”; I am just using this as an inclusion model.Onto the meat and potatoes of this review, The School Culture:Yes, there are a HANDFUL of teachers at this school that are very beneficial and will guide a student towards a great learning path; these are the educators we want in this world. However, there are some teachers at this school who cannot be described as a teacher, but as a machine that talks. These types of teachers will not show any flexibility towards students, and will often be aggressive towards students, showing anger or being passive-aggressive. Next, there are the PHONE RULES:Over the last 4-5 years (as of 2026), there have been drastic changes to the school (and the district's) cell phone policies. For some unknown reason, the administration at this school thinks it is okay to MARK STUDENTS ABSENT FOR NOT SURRENDERING THEIR CELL PHONE. This practice is inhumane; the school is essentially saying, "We don't care that you are PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE ROOM, we only care that your phone is in the right spot." This practice is enforced to be followed by all teachers, and does not help the mental health of any student.Special Education: Not much to say, other than nearly all of the team members have a nice role.More on School Culture:Students at this school are highly competitive; there are often times when a student will show a test/assignment grade to another, and will get mocked and made fun of, sometimes in front of their group (mentioned earlier). Another thing is that some people at this school will always make a joke, but rope others into it, making the victim seem as if they are crazy and that the victim can no longer trust them. Finally, there have been so many fights at this school. Some happen in the bathrooms with the ones who vape, and some happen in the middle of the hallway, with blame across everyone present.If your child must attend this school, be cautious.

I am grateful for this full inclusion school. I think it's really important for my kid to be with everyone in their community without segregating kids with disabilities elsewhere so that everyone thrives together. I know a lot of naysayers worry about resources or it driving down academic performance, but with being full inclusion Ruby Bridges also consistently outperforms other schools academically. I also think it's really important we don't segregate hi-cap kids from their peers even if they need different academics at different points in the day because it fosters connection and empathy for those different than them.Thank you for all the staff and leadership that makes this wonderful community possible. Hopefully the rest of Northshore will more to desegregate their other schools as well so everyone can benefit.