Racial diversity and Seattle area schools

Racially diverse schools and communities are top of mind for many of my client families moving from outside of the Seattle area.  Many families are coming from international schools, large metropolitan areas (like Boston, NYC) and have questions about Seattle area public schools with regards to race and family income. 

I find many families unfamiliar with Seattle view it as a very homogeneous city and are surprised when they see how diverse many of the schools are with regard to race and income.  I also assist families coming from smaller school districts and city suburbs and their children have not been in a racially diverse school and they have questions about how schools in the Seattle area "look and feel" compared to their current district. 

Seattle no longer buses students outside of their neighborhood schools and schools reflect the population of the neighborhood. The Eastside (Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland) never bussed outside of area and their schools racial make up has changed along with the changing population following the tech industry. 

Recently, The Seattle Times published this very informative article about race and our public schools andincluded an interactive tool to view your school or target school and look up the diversity index score for any school in King or Snohomish County.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/west-seattles-sanislo-elementary-most-racially-diverse-public-school-in-the-state/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=mobile-app&utm_campaign=ios

I am available to discuss these statistics and specific schools assisting you in finding the right fit schools for your children. 

Outdoor Preschool Comes To Seattle

I have yet to assist a family with outdoor preschool, but find the concept very interesting and look forward to following this "new to Seattle" development.  Check out the link below for an NPR story on the concept. 

I have a good friend that was an American expat in Norway and one of the things that caught her off guard was the amount of time her preschool children spent outside - rain, shine, snow or wind. Being outside was a big part of their preschool day and they quickly adjusted to bundling up to eat their lunch in the wooded area on school grounds - snow or no snow. To say the least, she didn't join them for lunch too often!  Kids adjust quickly - parents, it seems, sometimes take a little longer. 

http://kuow.org/post/outdoor-preschools-are-coming-seattle-rain-or-shine?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=FBKUOW5212

I also thought it worth sharing this recent article from "The Seattle Times" about an outdoor preschool program setting up at the Seattle Arboretum - June 15, 2015

http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/kids-go-outside-and-learn-at-the-arboretums-outdoor-forest-school/

Highschool Advice

The article linked to below may be a bit cheeky, but within the humor is a lot of good advice for high school students and parents.  It was originally published in "The Seattle Times" in 2008 and continues to make the rounds to parents and students each school year. 

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/free-advice-for-making-the-most-of-high-school-years/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=article_left