In November, The Seattle Times published a comprehensive guide to 535 public and private elementary, middle, and junior high schools in the greater Seattle area. The 256-page guide not only provides information on test scores, class sizes, and curriculum highlights, but also describes what parents and the community are doing to support students and staff. As well as information on individual schools, the guide offers an education overview for the area, with comments on district philosophies and programs, extent of parent involvement, how computers are being used, and what’s on the horizon.
“The Seattle Times Guide to Schools” is a companion to the newspaper’s 1996 guide to public and private high schools. It joins a growing list of consumer guides to schools. (See “Choice Inspires Consumer Guides to Good Schools,” School Reform News, December 1997.) Serving the community through quality journalism is a core value of The Seattle Times.
The guide is available at no charge from two local businesses, which helped underwrite the book’s printing, Bartell Drug Stores, and participating Windermere Real Estate agents. An online version of both the 1997 and 1996 school guides is available at The Seattle Times’ website at http://www.seattletimes.com/schoolguide/.
