Aki Kurose Middle School

Posted: February 5, 2026

I had a bad experience at this school. It was a really difficult school to teach in. It seems underfunded and the classroom was not cleaned regularly. The students were out of control and there was little support. I would not want to send a child to this school.

Posted: February 5, 2026

Posted: February 5, 2026

Posted: February 5, 2026

Posted: February 5, 2026

Posted: February 5, 2026

Posted: February 5, 2026

Posted: February 5, 2026

Posted: October 13, 2021

I have a fellow parent who has seven children in different Seattle Schools and warned me about this school - her son was assaulted several years ago due to lack of security (open back door) and the principal/staff didn't take any responsibility over it. I thought well, that was a few years ago - things should be better. But the second warning was when I went to Orientation and I asked another parent how the environment is because she had a daughter that already graduated from the school. She said, "It's a good school but tell your child to find good friends to hang out with and make sure they don't go to the bathroom alone and to have each other's back".

I still gave it a shot and had my daughter attend. Within the first week, she got on the wrong school bus and the drivers said they didn't let anyone on that wasn't authorized. She went missing for an hour. I went to the front desk and the lady rudely said, "I'm off the clock...but I guess I can make an announcement". Then left. I ran to all the classrooms because all the phone numbers provided to me were phones to the main office. I begged a teacher for the principal's cell phone or any teacher's cell number but he didn't seem to care and said I needed to check around because she's probably around. In the end, thankfully she found her way home, but I put in a complaint with the Ombudsman and nothing came of that. In fact, the principal at the time re-labeled my email from "my daughter's disappearance after school" to "my daughter taking the wrong bus". Complete gaslighting and couldn't even take time to meet with me although I tried to be civil and ask for a process change with communication.

On top of that, the teachers had Curriculum Night and my husband said they didn't even introduce themselves to him. It was a "student-led" curriculum night and he learned nothing except she showed the classrooms. Unbelievably lazy teachers and horrible staff, including a very incompetent principal. I pulled her out of the school mid-semester and put her in charter school out of desperation. Until they turn around this school and change the culture, steer clear.

Posted: October 13, 2021

Posted: October 13, 2021

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Posted: November 7, 2019

Posted: November 7, 2019

Compassionate staff work with students of all capabilities to inspire learning and growth.

Posted: November 7, 2019

Posted: November 7, 2019

Wonderful experience and happy to see a culture that is diverse and inclusive.

Posted: November 7, 2019

Posted: November 7, 2019

Posted: November 7, 2019

Students are given the support they need to succeed and be good citizens. They're held accountable when they are not demonstrating good choices.

Posted: June 15, 2015

I am a former student and this school is terrible. Some staff/teachers are very supportive and helpful but that is only a good handful. Favoritism towards certain races/students is VERY obvious; the frisbee team has some of the most arrogant and disrespectful kids you will ever meet but they are good at frisbee so they are automatically treated better than any other sports team or student which is repulsive. Bullying is as frequent as it is at any other school but there are many fights and the whole process of getting help if you are being bullied is flawed majorly, a complete joke. The principle cares too much about Aki's exterior image and could care less about whats ACTUALLY going on in the school. I didn't even see her most of the year, she only popped up to brag about how "amazing" Aki is in order to make herself look like a good principle. I had a very average experience at this school but there is definitely some serious issues with this school.

Posted: June 15, 2015

PLEASE READ!! I am a former student of this school. Let me start off by saying that your child CAN learn and grow at Aki academically, but support is going to have to be given at home because not many teachers are willing to motivate their students. Some staff are extremely rude to the children whom they aren't close with which is repulsive! Every child should be treated with a certain level of respect. There is a lot of favoritism going on at this school, and I know that there is favoritism everywhere but it is VERY obvious at Aki Kurose. Aki had many sports teams but the only team you will ever hear about is the frisbee team. The frisbee team and it's members are supported and glorified to a ridiculous extent while other sports teams and children are pushed into the shadows. If you are on the frisbee team you are more likely to be accepted by other students and even teachers! It's horrendous. Not to mention some of the members of the team are plain disrespectful. And yes, there is drug use going on at the school but there is also a drug prevention group which not many people know about, not even the students. It amazes me how they won't promote a group doing good for the school/community but will show off some of the most arrogant, bratty children I have ever met like they are the trophies of the school. The bullying at Aki is as frequent as it would be at any other school, but there are many fights and the whole process to get help if you are being bullied is a joke. I had an okay experience, but there are definitely some serious issues with this school.

Posted: January 7, 2015

I am an ex-staff member of this school. I transferred to another middle school because of the lack of attention this school get. For the most part, the staff at this school is great and your child will learn things. However, this school secretly gets less funding than the other Seattle Middle Schools. Sometimes the students are obnoxious and there is some drug use going on.

Posted: March 26, 2014

I've been a student at Aki Kurose Middle School since the 6th grade. Just being honest, but I'm really offended by the negative comments being made by people who haven't even given the school a chance. Aki Kurose has everything that you look for in a good school; diversity, good education system, wonderful teachers, bright students, and a vibrant community. I recommend not listening to the people who say, "no learning is being done there." Yes, there are some kids who aren't always on task, but that's their own decision. Are you really going to judge a school by those few kids who refuse to cooperate? Don't worry about them... just worry about how YOUR child is behaving. Okay, I won't lie. I had my doubts about this school before I enrolled. This was because I was once like you... paying attention to the negative instead of the positive. If I knew about how much fun I would end up having, then I would have quickly withdrew any doubts. The staff and the whole school in general deserve much more credit...

Posted: March 26, 2014

I've been a student at Aki Kurose Middle School since the 6th grade. Just being honest, but I'm really offended by the negative comments being made by people who haven't even given the school a chance. Aki Kurose has everything that you look for in a good school; diversity, good education system, wonderful teachers, bright students, and a vibrant community. I recommend not listening to the people who say, "no learning is being done there." Yes, there are some kids who aren't always on task, but that's their own decision. Are you really going to judge a school by those few kids who refuse to cooperate? Don't worry about them... just worry about how YOUR child is behaving. Okay, I won't lie. I had my doubts about this school before I enrolled. This was because I was once like you... paying attention to the negative instead of the positive. If I knew about how much fun I would end up having, then I would have quickly withdrew any doubts. The staff and the whole school in general deserve much more credit...

Posted: October 1, 2013

Don't believe what you have heard about this school. My student was assigned to Aki for the 2013-2014 school year, and I was dead set against it. Despite that, we decided to meet with the principal and take a tour. We were completely blown away. The staff at Aki are an amazing group of people who really want to be there, and want their students to succeed. There is a huge variety of support, partnerships and opportunities for students and families. The school had a really bad reputation in the past, but the turn-around orchestrated by the principal and her staff are incredible. They could certainly use more resources, but they really pull out all the stops in engaging and challenging their students. I am so glad we gave it a chance. I could only give one star for parent envolvement, but that is not due to lack of effort from the staff. They go out of their way to encourage parents to be involved.