Neighborhood schools score high marks

When Seattle Public Schools released a new ranking of all schools in the district this morning, two of the top 12 ended up being right here in the neighborhood.  Loyal Heights Elementary and North Beach Elementary both received the highest ranking of 5.  That ranking means a high number of students pass state tests and that their test scores are improving. The rankings also reflect how students, staff, and family members feel about the school’s atmosphere. You can take a closer look at the rankings here.

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

33 thoughts to “Neighborhood schools score high marks”

  1. Loyal Heights has 8% more students per class than say, Adams, and far lower scores regarding staff confidence in leadership. all these schools are flawed in some way, but nice to pat yourselves on the back every now and again.

  2. how is it racist to cite what is on the reports linked above?

    aren’t you the same dude who thinks that downtown is “desolated” and full of vacant lots and doesn’t want the homeless in his neighborhood?

  3. I sub in the schools all over Seattle. I’m very impressed with Loyal Heights, but it also a success because of the volunteers and the parents that take the time to help their children. Being a parent matters the most and these parents are the epitome of positivity. Hard work given to these thriving children of Ballard goes a long way in their lives. GO BEAVERS!!!

  4. Did you refer to southend schools as ‘black and blacker’ then? And schools in these parts are not all white, so what’s your point exactly?

  5. My kids’ (nonBallard) school made the top 12 list, and I have to say it is not ONLY because of favorable demographics. Surely several of the “bottom 13” schools have hard-working, high-quality staff but don’t rank any higher due to the challenges their school population comes in with — not speaking English at home, parents too busy working to provide much educational support, parents not very well educated and so unsure what support they even could provide. However, the converse is not true. There are schools out there with everything in their favor in terms of school population who did not make the top 12. The ones that did can thank teachers and parent volunteers who did not rest on their laurels with kids who come into school ready to achieve, but instead they got to work and made sure the achievement happened.

    That said, while I’m proud of my school making the list I don’t for a minute think it tells the whole story. These stats are interesting but if you want to know what a school is like go and visit. Even schools in the dreaded “bottom 13” can be serving kids well — don’t dismiss them out of hand.

  6. There’s all-white schools in Ballard? Where, pray tell are these abominations? Or is this just a figment of a race-obsessed mind?

  7. You say your kids are thriving at one school – why do you feel the need to denigate another because it got a higher ranking? All of us with kids in the system know that any rankings provide directional information, but don’t express the nuance of each’s merits and shortcomings. Your comments are not constructive.

  8. nah, everyone knows! all the chiiiildren are unique and great! little Madyson and of course young Aiden…..genius in all of them. lil shining snoflakes, every one different and yes Speshul. they ae the future -let them lead the way; show them all the beauty they posses INSIDE! i don’t know, give them a sense…..of pride. but above all else, let them know that they and their school are ranked high enough to make their parents proud! god bless ‘merrrricuh!

  9. No all-white schools. but there at least a few mostly white ones. Loyal Heights is 94% white. That’s an unfortunate product of being a popular school with a very small assignment area in a very white part of the city. Most parents would probably like a lot more diversity if they could get it.

  10. If you look closely at the graphs, you will note that Loyal Heights not only ranks far above the second-ranked elementary school, but also ranks well above the first place secondary school, as well. As these scores indicate rankings from the 2009-10 academic year, the real praise should be placed with the school’s leadership in the prior years that led to the current scores. As you read the climate surveys, the reader should pay attention to the safety section. Pay particular attention to the bullying section, and school/environs sections. Quite alarming.

  11. THANK YOU for pointing this out…. This very issue is exactly why we opted OUT of LH; rich PTA budget, high test scores, and all… They could not and would not assure me that they could keep *all* kids safe, or frankly, that they were even interested in doing so…

  12. Actually if you look at the percentages for the question “I was bullied, threatened or harassed at school,” Loyal Heights is not out of line with the rest of the community
    Whittier – 70%
    West Woodland – 65%
    North Beach – 63%
    Loyal Heights – 61%
    Adams – 54%
    Greenwood – 54%

    Looks to be a problem all around, not just a Loyal Heights.

  13. Very true, I guess what I meant was how the various schools responded to that concern once asked. As a parent whose kid has some special needs, this is a primary concern for us – I was very comfortable w/how Whittier & Adams responded to our direct questions about this (immediate references to zero tolerance for bullying as well as programs in place to teach empathy, etc.), yet LH had no real answer; I felt like I was making suggestions to them instead of the other way around… (And to be fair to the other schools you listed, we didn’t ever look at them due to where we live, we just focused on LH, Adams, & Whittier since our assigned school kept changing.)

  14. Exactly….parent involvement is key in children’s success, regardless of where they go to school. I wonder if they could quantify that in a future poll…ask parents how much time they spend helping their kids with schoolwork and then compare that to the other scores they test.

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