Stevens Elementary School

Posted: January 24, 2025

Stevens has been amazing for our kid and our family. We love the community, we love the teachers, and we love the school setup. The principal knows all the kids well enough to notice if they need support. The teachers are all kind and committed to the community, and I've been amazed at how quickly the kids learn -- and they have fun doing it. We appreciate the diversity and welcoming attitudes in this small community too. The fact that Kids' Club, THE best after-care program, is also on site is an incredible perk.

Posted: January 24, 2025

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Posted: April 26, 2023

Really nice, diverse engaged community, great teachers and admin, beautiful school. Wonderful aftercare program right on site. Covered sports area, cafeteria, and playground. The community around Stevens really values the school there and likes the school, a lot of people in the neighborhood went to Stevens or sent their grown children there, and they care about the school. A community hub!

Posted: April 26, 2023

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Posted: April 4, 2023

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Posted: April 4, 2023

We have a 4th grader and 1st grader at Stevens, so we were there before, during, and after the pandemic. We love our little school! The teachers form an excellent core and foster a community that is welcoming to all. The school's location on Capitol Hill helps insulate it from the de facto segregation that bedevils most of the schools in the district--its attendance area spans the historic "red line" and it draws from a good mix of housing types and household incomes, which means decent (not perfect, but better than most) diversity, both socioeconomic and racial. The school culture is welcoming to all, and faculty and staff teach the kids to fully embrace and celebrate their differences, be they in gender identity, race, national origin, or whatever.

The teachers and staff are engaged and creative in delivering varied and fun educational opportunities. We're back to having a lot of field trips for all grades, plus outdoor gardening education, Green Team Climate Committee, Global Reading Challenge, afterschool enrichment in all sorts of topics (chess, music, pottery, D&D, parkour, etc.)--all with costs fully and discreetly covered by PTA for those who can't pay. The library is awesome, as is the librarian. Our wonderful PE teacher focuses on lifelong activity and play. Our music and art specialists draw from traditions all over the world and come up with some really cool stuff.

Stevens also hosts a number of events for the community, such as the pancake breakfast, fall social, holiday tree sale, Lunar New Year, spring carnival, and so on. Stevens also runs Tutu's Pantry, a small food bank that gives food aid to families who need the help.

I read the terrible reviews for the school in years past, but however valid those concerns were at the time (and I agreed with many!), they have been addressed and are not current problems. With a complete overhaul of administration and some adjustments to discipline philosophy, the school is a different place than it was pre-pandemic. The teachers are top-shelf, the PTA is strong, and the school is firing on all cylinders.

Posted: April 4, 2023

Posted: April 2, 2023

Posted: April 2, 2023

Posted: April 2, 2023

This school has been a fabulous experience for our family in every way. We are a new KG family and our daughter has absolutely adored her time there. Great teacher, incredible staff, fantastic facilities. After school enrichment of art, chess, LEGO stem. After school program (Kids Club) onsite is seamless. Just finished a great Native American assembly followed up on Black History month activities. Truly feel lucky to have our child at this school. The tenure of the teachers makes this a special place - from the KG teacher, to the PE teacher, to the library.

Posted: April 2, 2023

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Posted: March 22, 2023

Our daughter is in Kindergarten and is having an amazing experience at Stevens. Her teachers are nurturing and stimulating. Her learning curve is remarkable. She is excited to come to school everyday. And the community is very strong and cohesive. Very strong recommendation for Stevens Elementary.

Posted: March 22, 2023

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Posted: March 22, 2023

Stevens has a supportive and actively engaged community. They bring in a wide range of events and field trips for the students and have one of the best elementary school libraries and art rooms- inspiring kids!

Posted: July 12, 2019

What can I say? Good and bad. Strong community, great staff, but parents who get together and try to bully their agenda into the runnng of the school.

Posted: July 12, 2019

Homework policies are fair for age and grade level.

Posted: July 12, 2019

Teachers do what they can, but are often undermined by an elitist group of entitled parents.

Posted: July 12, 2019

Teachers spend a good deal of time each day on social/emotional/behavioral expectations and problem solving strategies.

Posted: July 12, 2019

No real support for teachers and dealing with discipline and consequences

Posted: July 12, 2019

They try, but the personnel to support is often not there.

Posted: July 12, 2019

No consequences for students who consistently bully. No administrative support

Posted: April 19, 2019

Kindergarten isn’t really a homework generator, so as far as I know it’s ok.

Posted: April 19, 2019

We have heard that once we get past this awful kindergarten year the teachers are great. Hoping that’s true.

Posted: April 19, 2019

Model it, and it will develop. Apathy, sarcasm and burnout do not model good character.

Posted: April 19, 2019

So much bullying at this school. The same kids do the same stuff almost every day with no repercussions. Add to that a teacher who is an emotional bully and a principal who is playing politics (when he can be bothered to respond) and it all adds up to a very stressed out kindergartener and family.

Posted: April 19, 2019

My child tested into AL and although we can’t find any info about what that means going forward and have not received anything from the school, she has been placed in a higher reading level, which has helped alleviate the pressure of boredom for an hour or two.

Posted: April 19, 2019

Parents have to intervene daily with the same kid. My kid has to apologize to bullies for defending herself. There is systematic, daily, non-stop bullying from one or two known kids, and no effective support for the teachers or the kids.

Posted: April 19, 2019

Awful. We feel trapped here bc it’s our community and our child’s best friends are here and it would be devastating for her if she were transferred. We have been told by other parents that if you can get through kindergarten it gets a lot better, but it makes me sick to see what happens in kindie, the lack of leadership and the lack of caring for these poor little kids. Parents have no voice, it seems. My warning to you is if you have a kid who is going to kindergarten next year, DONT RISK IT. Find another school for kindie. If you do risk it and get the burned out teacher, please please listen to your kids, and believe them. It is that bad, and probably worse than they are able to convey. The psychological damage to our families and others in this class is going to take a long time to fix. The trust in our school leadership will never be fixed. We shouldn’t have had to see the worst of Seattle Public Schools our first year in, but at least now we know what we are dealing with. On the bright side, the Kid’s Club is awesome and a great antidote to the hell of the school day.

Posted: December 30, 2018

This school strongly believes in serving special needs students in the general population .

Posted: December 30, 2018

Stevens had some issues with overcrowding in the 2017-2018 school year, and there was some resulting behavioral issues. The PTA funded an additional teacher (above what the District provided) for the 2018-2019 year and the difference is great.

Posted: December 30, 2018

Good. Students will get what they need academically but not necessarily be stretched. The parent community is wonderful and many of them are very generous with their time and resources. The larger Capitol Hill neighborhood is very supportive of Stevens.

Posted: December 30, 2018

Gradual and healthy approach to introducing home work habits and skills.

Posted: December 30, 2018

The teachers at Stevens are experienced, talented, and care deeply for the students. However, they can be overstretched due to lack of adequate support from the District. They do their best and are creative in stretching resources.

Posted: December 30, 2018

My kid talks about the Stevens STARS pledge all the time. Teachers incorporate service-learning in the classroom. The school has an internal food bank run by parent volunteers, so kids learn how to support their community even at this young age.

Posted: December 30, 2018

The principal deals effectively with a diverse parent and student group. There is mix of wealthy (North Capitol Hill school) and low-income students (some 30% on free or reduced lunch). He is thoughtful about equity and has the courage to take unpopular decisions. Servant-leader type.

Posted: July 3, 2018

Posted: July 3, 2018

Posted: July 3, 2018

Bullying is a major problem at this school. When parents bring issues to the Principal he minimizes their concerns about their children... even when the children are being hit or pinched in their private areas. There have been several complaints issued to the school district regarding the Principal's lack of concern toward bullying, however it continues. Stevens fosters an environment where bullying thrives, which is not only destructive to the victims, but also the perpetrators and witnesses.

Posted: July 3, 2018

Absolutely terrible. Heartbreaking. Disappointing. Shocking. Saddening. I am so glad my child has transferred out.

Posted: July 3, 2018

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Posted: July 3, 2018

Any school that minimizes abusive behaviour between its students is not fostering strong character traits in its students, such as integrity, compassion and respect. Unfortunately the staff at Stevens care more about looking good than admitting their own shortcomings.

Posted: February 13, 2018

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Posted: February 13, 2018

This school has been a blessing for our family. After trying a private school in kindergarten that didn't work, we decided to try our home school and have been thrilled with our experience. The teachers are very experienced and work with students of all needs and abilities. We have appreciated their flexibility and understanding as well as the inclusion of arts curriculum into the instruction. The school atmosphere is very caring, and the staff makes it a point to get to know the families. After going the private school route, we have found one of the greatest pleasures to be in getting to know our neighbors and having local play dates as opposed to setting things up across town. The PTA is very active and involved while at the same time does not pressure families to exceed their financial or time abilities. This has been a great fit for our family!

Posted: July 8, 2017

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Posted: July 8, 2017

We have had wonderful experiences with this school.

The school has a good mix of students of different backgrounds. The PTA is very active and is a positive resource for the school. The school is quite popular and has heavy demand for transfer from families outside the catchment area. We purposefully bought our home within the Steven's catchment area.

The program is strong academically and in social skills, with the teachers and staff working very hard to make every child feel a part of the class, and to help students accept each other's differences.

The teachers have worked out an integrated program for the various grades. Our family is very focused on education are very pleased with the strong academic standards at Stevens and have been pleased with all of our student's teachers. And our student has loved them all.

Posted: September 16, 2014

The leadership is really lacking at Stevens and it shows in how the teachers treat students and their families. The teachers are pretty good but the level of professionalism is lacking much of the time and I can't say they treat parents as equal partners in teaching the child. As a result well-behaved kids are ignored and learning differences aren't addressed. The class sizes are very large and there is a lot of seat work with tons of worksheets starting in kindergarten. The PTA and parent community are very generous with their time and money so Stevens should be a rock star of Seattle Schools but instead it is just okay and many families move their students to the APP program as soon as they qualify.

Posted: January 5, 2014

I mentor a kid attending Stevens Elementary. Despite going to class every day, the kid cannot read or write and yet gets passed on to the next grade. Trying to engage the teachers and principal gets a stiff rejection. Not surprisingly, the kid lacks a supportive parent, but the school is failing the kid just as much as the single parent. There is no excuse for this kid to not even learn the basics of reading and writing, and to be passed on year after year until the kid drops out and the school district no longer has to worry about it (but the rest of society does!). I am so glad that my children will not be attending this school. With the positive reviews, I suppose it's fair to say that kids with supportive and active parents do well here, but that's likely the case in any school, isn't it? In Seattle this reality leaves a lot of kids to fail, and they do.