Education is important, and it starts young. While you’ll find great schools all over Washington, there are a few cities with school districts that stand out from the rest. Recently, this site analyzed data ranging from the quality of teachers to test scores, college readiness, and academic programs. Statistically, the found the best of the best.
Disclaimer: Western Washington does tend to dominate lists like these due to factors that have little to do with actual education, like population. Since there aren’t many Eastern Washington schools at the top of the list, we want to give a shout-out to two cities that still ranked very highly: Pullman Public Schools and the Newport School District. Both of them earned overall B+ ratings for their amazing educators and curriculum.
That being said, here are the top 10 cities for great schools in Washington, according to Niche.com:
- Shoreline
Shoreline Public Schools Facebook Located just 9 miles north of Seattle, Shoreline earns a high ranking on the list because of the Shoreline School District’s academics, teachers, college prep courses, and diversity.
- Seattle
Tiffany Von Arnim / Flickr Seattle Public Schools earned an A- rating from Niche, mainly for their great teachers, diversity, and abundance of programs and activities.
- University Place
Debs / Flickr This little Pierce County city scored big in education ratings. Their teachers, clubs and activities, and academics are all top notch.
- Bothell
Northshore School District Facebook Bothell’s North Shore School District is pretty great. They earned an “A” rating from Niche, scoring highly in teacher quality, academics, and college prep.
- Camas
Curtis Cronn / Flickr The Camas School District scored some seriously impressive ratings. Their teachers, academics and clubs and activities were all “A” scores, and they scored an A+ in the health and safety category.
- Bainbridge Island
InsideBainbridge Facebook Growing up on Bainbridge Island means going through the Bainbridge Island School District, which ranks 5th on the list due to their impressive academics and A+ college prep courses, not to mention their stellar teachers.
- Issaquah
Issaquah School District Facebook Issaquah was recently named one of Washington’s smartest cities. And considering the Issaquah School District ranks 4th on this list, it’s easy to see why.
- Redmond
Tony Kent / Flickr If you live in Redmond, send your children to the Lake Washington School District if you can. They scored sky-high ratings in academics, teachers, college prep, and clubs and activities.
- Mercer Island
SounderBruce / Flickr Mercer Island School District earned its number 2 spot on the list of best schools for its academics, college prep, and abundance of clubs and activities for students to join.
- Bellevue
Visit Bellevue Facebook Bellevue School District earned an almost unheard of A+ grade from Niche. Their academics and college prep programs earned A+ ratings, the teachers ranked a solid A, and they also did well in diversity and clubs and activities.
Of course, as we mentioned, you’ll find great schools with wonderful teachers all over the state. That’s part of the reasons why Washington is the best state.
Shoreline Public Schools Facebook
Located just 9 miles north of Seattle, Shoreline earns a high ranking on the list because of the Shoreline School District’s academics, teachers, college prep courses, and diversity.
Tiffany Von Arnim / Flickr
Seattle Public Schools earned an A- rating from Niche, mainly for their great teachers, diversity, and abundance of programs and activities.
Debs / Flickr
This little Pierce County city scored big in education ratings. Their teachers, clubs and activities, and academics are all top notch.
Northshore School District Facebook
Bothell’s North Shore School District is pretty great. They earned an “A” rating from Niche, scoring highly in teacher quality, academics, and college prep.
Curtis Cronn / Flickr
The Camas School District scored some seriously impressive ratings. Their teachers, academics and clubs and activities were all “A” scores, and they scored an A+ in the health and safety category.
InsideBainbridge Facebook
Growing up on Bainbridge Island means going through the Bainbridge Island School District, which ranks 5th on the list due to their impressive academics and A+ college prep courses, not to mention their stellar teachers.
Issaquah School District Facebook
Issaquah was recently named one of Washington’s smartest cities. And considering the Issaquah School District ranks 4th on this list, it’s easy to see why.
Tony Kent / Flickr
If you live in Redmond, send your children to the Lake Washington School District if you can. They scored sky-high ratings in academics, teachers, college prep, and clubs and activities.
SounderBruce / Flickr
Mercer Island School District earned its number 2 spot on the list of best schools for its academics, college prep, and abundance of clubs and activities for students to join.
Visit Bellevue Facebook
Bellevue School District earned an almost unheard of A+ grade from Niche. Their academics and college prep programs earned A+ ratings, the teachers ranked a solid A, and they also did well in diversity and clubs and activities.
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