Highland Middle School

My family and I have been blown away by the excellent experience our children are having at Sherwood Forest. We were disappointed in the school environment and leadership of our previous dual language school in the Lake Washington School District, and feel incredibly lucky that we have found a home at Sherwood Forest. When my children walk into the building every morning, every single adult they pass greets them by name and with a smile on their face. From the recess teachers, to the lunchroom workers, to the specialists, to the classroom teachers, to the principal and guidance counselors, everyone is clearly there because they love kids and want to make a difference. Any problems that have come up over the years (all minor), have been responded to quickly and collaboratively. The icing on the cake is offerings like choir, orchestra, band, computer science, and art--all free and all open to everyone. Speaking of free, all students are eligible for free breakfast and lunch, making meals more communal, making sure that everyone is nourished, and helping expose kids to new foods, textures, and flavors. The school is a true embodiment of "Our strength is our diversity, a shelter from adversity. All are welcome here."

Great school in my experience. Special education staff are very helpful and knowledgeable

I regret deeply sending my child to this school. My child was so confident when she joined the school but over disciplining approach that teachers and school follow completely made her unhappy. She begs every morning not to go to school. Education quality: the teacher expects your child to know the topic and if child ask question, she was told that since all children understand so only you do not understand. My child was confused if asking question when we do not understand is a problem. There is very less space and patience for learning. There is overall insensitivity towards emotional learning and empathy, I was surprised when I went for my child's birthday, I was told we will not sing happy birthday because we don't have time. My child felt very unimportant on her birthday. Teachers ignore your emails and don't reply for any concerns. Homework is not to encourage practice, it focuses on non-sense board game creation (every week), writing math raps (every week) and is not meant to make your child successful in the class. It's a total show-off. Absolutely zero appreciation from teachers when your child achieves something. If you are looking for a school where your child will love learning and wholistically grow as a person, this is not a place for your family. If you want to put your kids in this fragile age in rat race, may be this is the right place for you. Be prepared to be hearing non-sense from the teachers and the new Principal on made up data. Some handful of good teachers were there in previous grades and they also left after new head of school joined on single day notice. Horrible school and is not a healthy environment. Your child can achieve many things outside of this school. You don't need to send them here to break their spirit. I will carry the trauma from this school forever in my family.

Highly unprofessional and misleading conduct. My son was admitted to the center, and I paid a deposit of over USD 3,000 to secure the spot. The original start date was set for the end of the year. When my plans changed, I contacted the center to request a revised start date. I was explicitly assured, both over email and verbally, that this would be accommodated and that the deposit would be carried over.The center has now reversed this position and is not honoring those commitments. They required us to repeat the tour, during which the staff member conducting it was dismissive and disrespectful. They are also requesting an additional assessment. When I asked whether the deposit would be refunded if the assessment was unsuccessful, they explicitly refused.Withholding such a significant amount of money under these circumstances is unacceptable and raises serious concerns about their business practices. This reflects poor ethics, lack of transparency, and unprofessional handling of families. Commitments made in writing and verbally were not upheld.

Our son attended pre-elementary before we transferred him to public school for kindergarten.Low diversity—mostly Asian families—creates expectations of perfect, obedient behavior that's unrealistic for 3-4 year olds. Staff follow children with tablets, record "problem" behaviors, and send videos to parents. Multiple families we spoke with were pressured to seek neurodivergency evaluations or even put their kids on medication to remain enrolled.Communication is entirely deficit-focused—only highlighting flaws, never strengths or what the school does to support development. When touring, we noticed no displayed trophies for academics or sports—unlike other private schools.Graduates we know were less competitive when applying to private middle/high schools. The education here isn't better than an average public school—so why pay private tuition?

My children are bright and brilliant, but were somewhat languishing in there previous schools. When I asked about their day, there were a lot of shrugs. Now a Jewish day school, every day is excitement, joy, delight. As a parent, I don’t have to tell anyone how that feels. It’s truly incredible. We are so grateful that our children get to attend the school. The entire staff is absolutely unbelievable.