5641 Brooklyn Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98105

My two sons studied there after we moved from Azerbaijan to the United States, and at that time neither my children nor our family spoke English.The staff and teachers showed incredible care, patience, and support. Within just six months, both of my sons became fluent in English, which was an amazing achievement and a life-changing experience for our family.It has been almost three years since we left Seattle and moved to Philadelphia, yet both of my sons still remember Green Lake Elementary School with great love and appreciation. Ms. Nash (Rachel) continues to stay in touch with my son, and as a parent, this means so much to me. It shows how deeply the teachers truly care about their students.We are extremely grateful to Green Lake Elementary School for the kindness, dedication, and support they gave our family. I highly recommend this school to any family, especially those new to the United States.

The principal is hostile towards the kids and their parents, instead of focusing on the kids learning and fostering an inclusive environment he goes on crusades to ban backpacks, he punishes kids for having panic attacks, he gets rid of fun things that were brought in to get the kids engaged and playing with each other. He doesn’t respond to parent emails. Does your kid have a 504 plan? You’ll never hear a word from the 504 coordinator, and you have to contact each teacher individually to communicate what your child’s 504 plan entails. If you have a choice in which school to send your kid to. Don’t choose Hamilton.

McDonald’s vision emphasizes inclusion and social justice, but in practice, this is not reflected in the leadership under the current principal, Zoe Facilla. In my experience, her approach toward students and families who do not fit within her preferred “norm” has been biased and unsupportive. She has no interest in meeting the needs of students who require flexibility or who express themselves in ways outside traditional expectations.While students who are quiet and compliant may have a smooth experience, those who ask questions, set boundaries, or need accommodations often find their voices disregarded by staff including the principal, Zoe. The environment is very exclusive, and communication from the principal is performative rather than genuinely collaborative.It’s extremely frustrating and disappointing to see such a disconnect between the school’s stated values and the actual practices under current leadership. Families seeking a truly inclusive, student-centered community may want to explore whether McDonald’s current culture aligns with their expectations.

Lincoln High School is different from the ground up. Intentionally designed to build on decades of research about how students learn best - most of which are at odds with the way us parents were educated and consequently what we expect to see our children have to do. Many of the reviews on here are complaining because their kids are not experiencing what they experienced - i.e. lots of homework, no re-takes on tests, teaching to standardized tests and expecting very little self-directed learning. What works best for student learning has been known for decades. Changing the school system is nearly impossible though for the very reasons these parents are complaining - it's not like they did it so it must be wrong. This is why much of the way they taught at Lincoln was kept quiet till the school was well established and the success was seen in test scores and college performance. They even brought in a change management expert to help get parents to buy into these wild ideas when they were starting the school. Since it was started from the ground up, they worked within school district regulations and really mixed things up. The result? Students emerge being self directed learners not kids who only do what they are told. Yes, they have to find information and learn it on their own in order to do well on the standardized tests. This is great preparation for real life. Yes, they can take tests over again because the point is not the grade it is that you learned the material. Yes, there is a lot of freedom in how they approach a project or even a chemistry lab because it is about being able to think for yourself, not have the teacher tell you what to think. Is it different? YES. Does it frustrate me that my kid doesn't come home with homework? YES. Do I sometimes wish the teachers would "baby" my kid a little more giving them more help? YES. Is falling down and learning to pick yourself up on your own good for your kid? YES. Is equity a big topic in school? YES. Does research back up that kids are more innovative, better listeners and learn material better when they hear different perspectives, work with those not like themselves and have to figure things out on their own? Yup. Did it prepare my kids well for college? YES. Does Lincoln get as many or more kids into the top universities in the country than the $$$ private schools in the area? Yup. Are my / have my kids been happy there? VERY. Don't expect typical.