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Top School Districts Match Hottest Real Estate Markets

Jeff Scott - April 23, 2018

Location matters greatly in real estate. One element of location that significantly influences the value and desirability of a home is the quality of the corresponding school district. In the Northwest Washington area, three of the top school districts, Lake Washington, Issaquah, and Bellevue, correspond with some of the hottest real estate values in the state. Those school districts have seen more than 15% growth in property values year over year. And, there’s no end in sight for rising values.

School Districts and Corresponding Home Values:

These three top school districts are geographical neighbors comprising the Eastside or East Puget Sound, an area of very high demand with buyers. Those areas also have some of the highest real estate prices in the state of Washington. February 2018 data show that both Seattle and Eastside smashed home price records – ahead of the typically busy spring and summer buying seasons.

Overseas buyers moving to the Seattle area, often from Asia, tend to be cash buyers searching for the best school districts. Like the laws of supply and demand, that helps to drive prices higher. But the same could be said for domestic buyers. A 2013 study found that 91-percent of domestic buyers are also driven by the quality of the local schools. Those majority of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay 1-percent to 10-percent above budget to live within certain school boundaries. 90.53-percent said school boundaries are “important” and “somewhat important”. Other studies have shown that buyers are willing to give up on a home’s feature in order to be able to buy into a good school district.

If you’re selling your home in one of our area’s top school districts, that’s good news. If you’re a buyer, however, you’ll need a good real estate agent to help you get the best deal in one of these districts.

Granted, not everyone is interested in the local public school, either because they don’t have children or plan on sending them to a private school. However, the majority of buyers with children will consider the quality of the local schools, so it’s important you consider that when you’re buying or selling.

Educational Choices:

It’s important to note that overall Washington’s public schools perform above the national average – which is why we remain such an attractive location for transplants and a hyper-competitive market all-around. One important point to consider as a buyer is that in the state of Washington, children have intra-district choice, meaning they can attend any school in within their school district. Although not relevant to these three top-performing districts, under the federal “No Child Left Behind” law, students who attend a Title 1 school designated as “in need of improvement” have the right to attend a higher performing school in the district. Since 2015, Washington parents also have the option to enroll their children in public charter schools. Low-income students are eligible for some scholarship funding to attend private schools.

In 2018, there were slightly more than one million students enrolled in K-12 public schools across Washington.

Three Top School Districts:

Bellevue School District is ranked as the top school district in Washington and is considered an elite, public school district located in Bellevue, WA. The district has 19,456 students in grades PK-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 17 to 1. 75% of its students are at least proficient in math and 77% in reading. There are 18 elementary schools in the district, six middle schools, and seven high schools. Here are the top schools within this district:

Elementary:

  1. Cherry Crest Elementary School, 12400 N.E. 32nd St., Bellevue. It has 581 students in grades K-5 with a student-teacher ratio of 21 to 1. State test scores: 94% of students are at least proficient in math and 94% in reading.
  2. Spiritridge Elementary School, 16401 SE 24th Street, Bellevue. It has 654 students in grades K-5 with a student-teacher ratio of 20 to 1. State test scores: 86% of students are at least proficient in math and 86% in reading.
  3. Bennett Elementary School, 17900 NE 16th Street, Bellevue. It has 439 students in grades K-5 with a student-teacher ratio of 19 to 1. State test scores: 83% of students are at least proficient in math and 84% in reading.

Middle:

  1. Odle Middle School, 11650 SE 60th – temp loc., Bellevue. There are 877 students in grades 6-8 with a student-teacher ratio of 19 to 1. State test scores: 80% of students are at least proficient in math and 84% in reading.
  2. Tyee Middle School, 13630 S.e. Allen Road, Bellevue. There are 971 students in grades 6-8 with a student-teacher ratio of 19 to 1. State test scores: 84% of students are at least proficient in math and 89% in reading.
  3. Chinook Middle School, 2001 98th Ave NE, Bellevue. There are 1,019 students in grades 6-8 with a student-teacher ratio of 19 to 1. State test scores: 76% of students are at least proficient in math and 81% in reading.

High:

  • Interlake High School, 16245 NE 24th Street, Bellevue. There are 1,590 students in grades 9-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 19 to 1. State test scores: 91% of students are at least proficient in math and 96% in reading.
  • International School, There are 575 students in grades 6-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 20 to 1. State test scores: 88% of students are at least proficient in math and 90% in reading.M.
  • Bellevue High School, There are 1,632 students in grades 9-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 21 to 1. State test scores: 94% of students are at least proficient in math and 98% in reading.

Lake Washington School District is ranked third behind Mercer Island District. Lake Washington is considered a highly rated, public school district located in Redmond, WA. It has 27,059 students in grades PK-12 and has a student-teacher ratio of 17 to 1. State scores indicate that 76% of students are at least proficient in math and 82% in reading. There are 31 elementary schools in the district, 12 middle schools, and nine high schools.

Elementary:

Middle:

High:

Issaquah School District is ranked fourth in the state and is considered a highly rated, public school district located in Issaquah, WA. There are 19,405 students in grades PK-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 19 to 1. State scores: 76% of students as at least proficient in math and 79% in reading. It has 15 elementary schools, six middle schools, and five high schools.

Elementary:

Middle:

High:

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