The Evergreen School

Good afterschool programs and great families. As for academics we thought it was overrated. It was difficult to measure any progress with our kids since they don't give traditional grades and don't believe in standardized testing (except to get in). The school has experienced growing pains and may have lost their way but overral it is still a good school. As long as you don't set you expectations too high you won't be dissapointed.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a great school for gifted students. Our daughter was nurtured by some fantastic teachers in the younger grades and then invigorated and challenged by a rigorous program and energetic teachers in the upper grades. The school gradually increases expectations and responsibilities as they children get older, and the ability of my child to be an independent worker, to be proud of her achievements and tolerant of her mistakes is amazing. She is a good team worker, loves to learn, and is ready to confidently enter the world. The music and sports programs have improved immensely, especially after the school built a gym and small theater. Exceptional after-school program, especially chess. The campus is beautiful, and there is a good focus on being environmentally responsible. Wonderful parent body - diverse, tolerant, fun people committed to helping make the school great.
—Submitted by a parent

I find the school a center of excellence in the greater Seattle area. My children receive an excellent education tailored to their abilities and learning styles. You get what you pay for, and with Evergreen you get that and more!
—Submitted by a parent

Public image of the school and quality of education is overrated. Some good teachers retired, left, or were even encouraged to leave. School is lacking core of great teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

Very disappointed with this school... I don't find this school to be a school for 'gifted' children. Some are struggling with academics and have behavior problems. Some of the teachers are incompetent and emotionally hurtful to children. Many of the teachers seem burnt out. Surprisingly, the administration did nothing about some of these teachers for over 10 years even though the parents complained year after year. One thing they do offer is good extracurricular activities.
—Submitted by a parent

I had two children that went to Evergreen from Preschool through 6th grade. Overall I think the quality of the academic programs in the early elementary grades was very strong. I was much less impressed with the middle school. In my opinion there are some really amazing teachers, and there are some real duds. I also feel it's well known who the duds are, but not much is done to get rid of them. We loved the community feel of the school. There is lots of parental involvement and lots of different ways to be involved. Our main reason for leaving was finacial. We have a third child, and we could not afford to enroll them, so we decided to move everyone to public school. We are very happy with that decision. The arts at Evergreen are excellent. Afterschool sports opportunities are much better at public school.
—Submitted by a parent

We were recommended to this school by Dr. Fred Provenzano after he evaluated our first grader. We are extremely happy with the school. It requires a bit more of parent involvement than most, but worth it.
—Submitted by LuAnne Perry, a parent

Evergreen is a good academic school for gifted children, but our experience was that it lacked attention to the social interactions of the children and that caused some very hurtful and problematic situations. In particular for our child, there were others who shunned the newcomer and much exclusion that the teacher and staff did not deal with at all. It was well into the year when we discovered this as our child did not say anything about it, and we had to pressure the school to do anything to try to remedy the situation, or apologize in a meaningful way. I belive it left a very lasting impact on this young person. I would be very careful to check this school out before sending a student here; perhaps they're paying more attention to this now.
—Submitted by a parent