Des Moines Elementary School

Wonderful teachers who really care about students.

If I could have chosen 2.5 stars I would have. I feel that the school falls below average, but I am not ready to call it bad.My son is in a dual-language program and I do not see progress at all in regards to his learning Spanish, or in the subjects that he is taught in Spanish. I love the dual-language idea, and it is early, but so far - not feeling like a whole lot has happened there. He has spoken a couple of Spanish words, but I have discovered that he was not aware that he was speaking Spanish, and he also could not tell me what the words mean in English. This may be why he isn't showing any growth in the subjects that are taught in Spanish - and my greater concern there is that he is sitting through that instruction without having any idea of what is being discussed. There was an incident in which a teacher placed their hands on my child. Not okay. The amount of staff at this school that seem to be unable to gauge what is appropriate touch and voice tone there is out of proportion to what I have witnessed in other schools (I have a teen and due to work we moved frequently, so I have seen a lot of schools).I have witnessed staff being amazingly unprofessional many times - from the two cafeteria line ladies bickering with each other in front of everyone, including the children, to staff speaking ill of someone in earshot of others, etc. The cafeteria is often dirty. Really dirty. There seems to be a lack of adult supervision in the mornings after breakfast in the halls. The after-school program ran by the city of SeaTac is inaccessible due to a full bus, and the school or district will not/cannot provide another bus.Another con, in my view, is that there is no half-day kindergarten option. Pros:The dual-language program, if it proves to be beneficial. Eduwiges in the front office - she is very professional and is always very prompt at returning calls/emails. If she doesn't know the answer (but she usually does) she will find out.Principal Yarbrough is also very prompt in returning calls and emails. My son's phonics and math have developed pretty well. There is a lot of diversity in this school, and it is celebrated.

My child has attended Marvista for two years and really enjoys it. Her reading and math skills have improved tremendously and the school has a great local community spirit. The PTSA is very engaged and provides free school supplies for ALL children. My daughter loves the breakfast/lunch options, and feels safe and welcome at her school. We receive consistent communication from her teacher, and I appreciate that the school also has had free community field trips to places like the Point Defiance Zoo, the ballet, and state parks for hikes. Talking to some of our family friends, other Highline and SPS schools don't have the same opportunities. We're glad our kid is a Marvista Orca.

I give this school 5 stars. My 2 boys started here and I’m excited for my daughter to attend as well.

Scale between 1 and 10 is a zero

I cannot say enough with my words how wonderful this community is! Ms Jones is an amazing leader in this community! Everytime I go in, I feel I was welcomed and greeted. I witnessed my kid and his classmates’ progress in Academics and also social emotional learning. We feel so grateful to have great educators in North hill! Attentive and warm loving environment for Students!

It is an amazing School the staff are amazing and make you feel comfortable they are amazing I'm still a student and I love the school you can make so many friends everybody's amazing they always have a nice attitude when they come to the school it is one of my favorite schools I love it and God bless that school it is incredibly amazing