Highline Schools
The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by a verified Highline resident.
[NOTE FROM EDITOR: Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Highline Journal or Daniel Media. If you wish to submit a story, photo, article, or letter, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.]
School Board Testimony: September 17, 2025
I’d like to draw your attention to an issue I have observed in my neighborhood in North Burien. The parents with whom I am acquainted, my immediate neighbors, appear to be satisfied with Shorewood, the local Highline Elementary School. However, they are unhappy with their middle school assignment. They begin to plan their children’s escape from the Highline School District long before their children reach middle school age. They appear to be willing to do whatever is needed--suffer any kind of expense and undergo immense inconvenience—to enable their children to avoid attending Cascade Middle School.
Some enroll their youngsters in Summit Atlas, the local charter school. A small minority opt for homeschooling, while others choose the expense of private schools. Still others are willing to undergo the hardship and uncertainty of putting their children on a ferry to attend the schools on Vashon Island. Admittedly, I only know of 12-13 children whose parents have chosen this direction, but avoiding the Highline middle school is the unanimous goal of the close neighbors that I know.
These parents want a more traditional, rigorous academic approach as well as respectful and orderly student behavior. As stated in my previous testimony, these problems will only be solved in close consultation with the Cascade Middle School teachers. Their input needs to be fully valued in solving this serious situation, so that they can maintain order and teach their content areas. It is the teachers, in collaboration with the principal, who need to be consulted for solutions.
[NOTE FROM EDITOR: If you wish to submit a story, photo, article or letter, please contact us or email info@TheHighlineJournal. Even if you wish to remain anonymous, please include your name and phone number so we may contact you privately. We look forward to hearing from you.]
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