Whitman Middle School

Posted: January 27, 2026

My daughter had 2 terrible years at Whitman. She went in from private school with strong academics, and was always a thriving student being challenged and encouraged daily.
Whitman changed that for the worst.
She is now unmotivated, doesn't enjoy going to school, and the electives choice is just a joke.
She asked for visual arts 2 years in a row and got turned down every time.
Now they give her walking PE. They swapped arts for walking PE? Make that make sense.
The stem teacher is amazing, but we were promised a wonderful new stem curriculum this year, students were even encouraged to take stem again to benefit from it - but it did not happen. And families weren't notified either, so she had to do the exact same curriculum this year.
There is 0 communication with parents on those issues, and it is clear the admin has better things to do.
I would disregard the aging building and lack of inviting amenities if at least the academics and electives were up to par with the other middle school I visited this month.
Trust me, there are way better options out there.

Posted: January 27, 2026

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Posted: June 5, 2024

Do not send your child to this school. I've only been going here for a year, and my older sibling has been going here for three. This school has no anti-bullying protocol, I've been the F-slur by many homophobic students. The best advice the school can give, is "Ignore them" With no intent on changing the behavior or even talking to those students. There are so many things going on right now in the real world, like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this school will silence students or teachers talking about it, or any topic they deem "inappropriate". Things that students suggest never even get to the principal, like the Gender neutral bathroom, is not even in consideration because some parents have "concerns" so your forced to out yourself if you want to use the right bathroom, which could get you bullied. There are plenty of racist students in this school, and the teachers don't care. Please do not send your child to this school, for their mental health.

Posted: June 5, 2024

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Posted: November 7, 2023

Posted: November 7, 2023

Posted: November 7, 2023

I am writing from my own family's perspective. My child is smart, capable and attentive -- and students like this are utterly ignored at Whitman, save by a few very skilled and committed teachers. I cannot speak to other types of students or the school's or district's efforts to support them. But over three years at Whitman (one entirely remote during the pandemic, and we were willing to give the school a pass there), my child only worked hard and learned in only a few classes. The rest of the time she was BORED and unchallenged and routinely just left to read on her own, or watch videos on her phone, or whatever when she finished her work. That is unacceptable.

Summary:
- A few math teachers and one history teacher were excellent and managed to teach appropriately to the wide variety of skill levels of students in the class. Which is hard to do, I understand, but it should be managed better than this.
- The rest of her teachers were not unpleasant. They just mostly failed to teach smart kids who learn quickly. She spent hours every day doing nothing. I don't think she read an entire book and did a thorough project/book report in English class over three years. (There was some in-class, out-loud reading; strange for an 8th grade class.) There was almost nothing substantive in science, over all three years, and no real hands-on experiments.
- There is a serious lack of electives available. If your student does not do Spanish or music (highly recommend doing these, if your child goes to Whitman!), which continue through the whole year, there are simply not enough semester-long options for the kids to take. So they end up being "TAs," which essentially means doing nothing, again. No one told us that in advance.

We were really disappointed with this school. We expected better from Seattle Public Schools. Highly capable students should be able to receive a solid education from their neighborhood school. We were not asking for amazing, just for pretty good.

Posted: October 5, 2023

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Posted: October 5, 2023

Posted: October 5, 2023

My child went to this school and after 6 months we pulled him out and transferred to another school. He was threated to be shot, bullied relentlessly, physically assaulted, and felt completely unsafe and unheard. The school did ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING to help my child and make him feel safe and welcome. They put the blame on my child and told him "you need to learn how to be in a room with someone you don't get along with". The school didn't take the school shooting threat seriously. The pushed everything under the rug and tried to gaslight us into thinking this wasn't a big deal and we were overthinking it. When we had these issues arise I reached out to the community and TEN other families came forward stating they had similar situations. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!!!

Posted: January 6, 2023

Posted: January 6, 2023

This school kind of sucks, Sure I've had good experiences with the PEOPLE but the schools problems solving skills suck. One of my friends has been bullied for all three years they've been here, and all the school says is "suck it up." The counselors are all push-overs and the only good one was a substitute. Out of your school schedule, good luck getting more than one good teacher. Pray you eat lunch with your friend groups or can make a good enough sob story to switch classes so you can. My mental health has genuinely decreased trying to talk to the counselors, every situation is solved with, "Your parents need to be called!!" or "Oh come eat lunch in the counselors away from your friends!!" People who tell you this is a good school are lying to you or are writing this as a joke. Seriously- I would rather be in the constant state of lockdown RES is in then standing out in the cold on valentines day because some kid set some trash can in a bathroom on fire.

Posted: January 5, 2023

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Posted: January 5, 2023

I have been to 6 different schools and this one is somehow to worst of all, the teachers are awful and careless and HONESTLY this school is an abomination, I've only been here for 4 months and I can't stand it, I have no idea how the other kids here deal with it. There was literal mold growing on the floors, broken floor tiles, bathroom fire, and an insect infestation. I know this is part of the government not paying enough but it's not really an excuse. Not to mention a student getting arrested for threatening to shoot the school??
1 star is a super generous rating, if i could lower it to 0 stars I would.

Posted: April 18, 2019

This school has study skills for students which seems to help the kids. I never had it but it seemed effective.

Posted: April 18, 2019

Posted: April 18, 2019

Posted: April 18, 2019

This school is so far a great experience for you. You know, school be school. my "best friend" hates me and that happens. This school has your traditional cliques. Whitman has a great band program, and the Librarian, Mrs. Macer, is the best. Mr. Beck is very sweet, and Mrs. Trent is the best teacher there she is so nice. Personally, I HATE Seattle and this school is the only reason I'd not want to move. There is higher level math, for instance I'm in sixth grade and I take seventh grade math. Seventh graders can take eighth grade math, and eighth graders can take Algebra 1. They just remodeled the bathrooms and they look great! This school has a lot of great opportunities for all students. The school has A,B,C,D, and E grades. There are +'s and -'s but, there is no + for the A. For sports you have to fill out progress reports which isn't that bad, it's just your grade on a piece of paper so you can participate in sports. The people are fine. Sports include, Girls and boys basketball, co-ed track, girls volleyball (They don't let boys on the team-sexist), girls and boys soccer, and ultimate frisbee. There is a book club in the library for fun. Jazz bands and drumlines before and after school. There is a thing called "Wildcats Read" where you read books and fill out forms it's really fun! Overall, this is a good school it's really not that bad a lot of people over exaggerate. know some one who went to a private school because, there was almost a kidnapping there like 6 years ago. Our mascot is a Wildcat, our science curriculum is Amplify, and our math program is Pearson Easybridge the math teachers are fine like all teachers. Electives: art, tv production, band, orchestra, pe, and yearbook. Yearbook is only for eighth graders tho. The view is really cool.

Posted: April 18, 2019

The school does require a planner, but it's not something they told us until we went to school. So, I was stuck with a different planner all year. The teachers choose to give out homework, and in my opinion it's a pretty fair amount.

Posted: April 18, 2019

Posted: May 30, 2018

Whitman requires students to keep a planner & they teach the children how to use them. It has been highly effective in helping my child get organized with her home work assignments. She has homework each night in math, lots of science, world history and language arts.

Posted: May 30, 2018

Mr Harris has been fantastic. Computer Essentisls has also been great, PE was excellent as were other hard academic classes.
Many teachers volunteer their time to offer extra help At Saturday Academy in the library, there is also before school help. And a weekly after school art club that the kids love: snacks, too! Thank you teachers!!

Posted: May 30, 2018

Advisory period first thing in The morning addresses many of these issues. There appears to be lots of support but in not sure how deeply the instructio goes into these values.

Posted: May 30, 2018

No opinion on this one, we do get emails from the principal but I and other parents have said improvements could be made in communication at the school.

Posted: May 30, 2018

To the extent that a large, public school can, Whitman does a great job with extra help on Saturday, and before school.

Posted: May 30, 2018

My child was being teased by a fellow student and I went to the school counselor. He profesdionally spoke w/ me & then my child & explained options for us. I thought it was handled very well.
I must say it wasnt vicious bullying but there is a system in place to handle bullying. The counselor took it very seriously.

Posted: May 30, 2018

While cosmetically it's not the most beautiful building, and we feel communication to parents could be improved upon we have been very pleased w/ Whitman. Our child has had an very good year and while it's not Outstanding, there are many great things happening at Whitman.

Posted: January 27, 2018

Extremely low. Not only does Whitman have many incompetent teachers and staff members but is also a disguising place. Just Walking around the school, bathrooms have urine splattered on the floor, the library is tiny, and floor tiles are uneven at certain places. Education-wise, it seems that Whitman’s only goal is to pass everyone as a whole rather than personalize the learning experience for its students. It does not adapt or in any way attempt to challenge high-achieving or gifted children. As a current student I find that Whitman’s, quote, “zero tolerance” bullying policy is both inconsistent and not working. Whenever the Whitman staff ‘feels like’ doing something, maybe the bully is given an infraction slip. When they don’t, they are let off with a warning. Everyday I walk down the halls and witness both physical and mental violence. The Whitman environment is a horrible one. I feel both unsafe and uncomfortable whenever I near the Whitman building, as do many of my peers. It feels as though I am trapped in this world of bullying, over crowded classes, filthy conditions, and no teacher cares enough to help me out. Not only that, but I was recently warned, as a new student, that there is asbestos in the floor, and should not scrape it with my chair for it will release the toxic, cancerous gasses. I am counting down the days until I get to leave this abomination of a school.

Posted: January 27, 2018

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Posted: July 17, 2017

Middle school is tough enough on a kid, however the student doesn't do anything about that. Bullying is very strong here and the school does nothing about it. There were many instances where situations happened that when addressed nothing was done. It was ignored. Middle school should be a place where a student is heard as they are in a place where they are building confidence and also going through so many changes. There is no respect for the students nor the parents here.

Posted: July 17, 2017

Very poor. The principal is no where to be seen unfortunately. Not saying that she wasn't good, however it would be good to get FaceTime from the leader of the school. Communication on all levels teacher to student, teacher to parent, school to parent were all poor. I found out more through my daughter than anything else. My daughter went without a science teacher for months. The PTSA is bad and no supports them because the school is just not an overall experience.

Posted: July 17, 2017

Unfortunately the school was too large for them to pay attention to really anyone yet alone learning differences.

Posted: July 17, 2017

Very poor. I will say this time and time, if I wasn't so close to my daughter I'd never know. Many times has she expressed issues with teachers and the school where nothing was done. More of a "solve it yourself" kind of situation. And although yes there are times where that rule should apply, there are other situations that a middle school turns to adults for this. And when adults don't listen it sets a reason for our children not to confide in us. Needs to change immediately.

Posted: July 17, 2017

Very low. We are going private next year and know many other parents that will be taking their child to another school. Whitman is outdated and so is the teaching style. It is one of the worst schools I have ever experienced I do not recommend sending your child here.

Posted: July 17, 2017

If it wasn't for Mr. Harris and everyday homework, my daughter would never have homework.

Posted: July 17, 2017

There were a few teachers that were great, one being Mr. Harris. There were others that were not strong middle school teachers, but would be great on the elementary level. One of the issues I had was the substitutes which were very common (almost too common) - they resulted in the class doing nothing. There was once when my daughter came home saying she did paper airplanes the whole period because the teacher didn't know what to do.

Posted: July 17, 2017

I was only provided homework from one out of six teachers.

Posted: July 17, 2017

Teachers there did not encourage me to learn or push myself to learn.

Posted: July 17, 2017

Posted: July 17, 2017

I would recommend never attending this school, it not only had a bad effect on my learning but on my personality.

Posted: July 17, 2017

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Posted: July 17, 2017

Posted: May 1, 2017

Whitman has many staff members that care about ALL students, a principal who gives incredible amounts of time and energy, many parents who contribute time and finances and a great diversity of students. My kids have been challenged and have excelled in math and language arts, in particular. They've enjoyed sports, and could have taken part in the fabulous band program or other after school clubs. Science has been the weakest core subject for us. The school is really in need of remodeling. Washington state must find a way to fully fund basic education without more regressive taxes.

Posted: May 1, 2017

This is a tough one for middle school!

Posted: May 1, 2017

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Posted: December 2, 2016

Whitman is one of the worst school any of our kids has ever attended. There is no communication between the school,teacher to the parents. A teacher just walked out mid November and my kid has had no instruction in that class when the teacher was there and now they are doing paper airplanes. Also math has been a bad experience for us there. I can not recommend this school.

Posted: December 2, 2016

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Posted: October 1, 2014

Some statements in the other reviews don't reflect my experience. I've never heard that a math teacher or any teacher has screamed at my children who both attended Whitman. My 1st child was in the advanced math program and had a super great math teacher who should be nominated for teacher of the year. My second child wasn't in advanced math but had a good teacher. My 2nd didn't learn as much as I hoped he would. All kids have the chance to pass Algebra 1 by 8th grade which puts them ahead of several other middle schools. There were school field trips every year: for example Seattle Children's Theatre Sherlock Holmes, Seattle Symphony @ Benaroya Hall, King Tut Exhibit, Woodland Park Zoo, Golden Gardens. To quickly summarize the rest: Science is uninspiring, Foreign Language excellent, Orchestra & Band excellent, Art teacher great, LA and Social studies mixed, New Gym teacher excellent, Parent led drama productions - excellent, Principal could be a stronger leader, In general teachers are good and some great. With leadership to push the envelope a little this could be a great school. School overall is improving.

Posted: August 26, 2014

The math program for sixth grade is terrible, the math teachers at whitman would scream and yell at my child if they did not get the questions right. my child would come home in tears. My child had a very hard time getting to and from classes. the passing periods are only three minutes long, and with the amount of students and with the size of the school it is practically impossible to get to your classes fast enough. The bathrooms are disgusting, the floors are always dirty. My student was told not scrape her chair on the floor because they are made of asbestos. The children there are rude and they have a major bullying problem. My child has been told many sexual remarks which are completely inappropriate. My child has learned every bad word and sexual reference there is. I was appalled when she came home and said what had happened to her that day. My child will not be attending Whitman anymore. It took all summer and 3 different tutors to get my child caught up.

Posted: March 3, 2014

I like it at Whitman, there are plenty of electives and afterschool activities and sports! I am a student there and do not understand why other recent reviewers would say there is no activities at all, it has more activities then most other schools I toured. The kids there are friendly and I like all my teachers, sometimes administrative staff can favor different groups of students and forget to discipline those groups but this happens rarely. I think people only rate Whitman so bad because of its reputation, it is truly not a bad school and I look forward to continuing my education there because I have learned a lot since I started going there.

Posted: October 17, 2013

It's truly an awful school... We on the tour in my sons 4th grade year, and it sounded great. That was back in 2010. The principal seemed great and there was lots of elective choices. He started in 2012 and it was awful. Staff Do not care, people are rude, extremely overcrowded. My Child learned the most sexual and awful things in 6th grade. Awful test scores, needed two tutors for grade-level math because they simply do not teach it. No electives/ after school activities. I mean None. My child faced awful bullying and came home in tears. The principal did not stay and neither did any staff members for over a semester. Everyone leaves. There is no science, all they do is Advisory (greetings) only three labs in 6th grade year. Zero field trips because they can not afford it. LA was okay, but nothing great. There is 15 portables because of the size. Bathrooms were gross. By 7th grade we moved schools, and now he is way behind. Thanks a lot Whitman.

Posted: April 3, 2013

Whitman Middle School - the LA program has serious problems. overindulgent and innappropriate teacher has long history of becoming entwined with the students usualy ending poorly. No anti bullying policy in place. Administration is interested in defraying issues and problems without considering the best plan for the student. My girls have never felt safe there. While this is typical of petty bearacracies, Whitman Middle School has serious communication issues. We are in agreement with the other reviews about Whitman. Too bad it is in such a vital part of Seattle..

Posted: December 4, 2012

If you want your child to learn math, don't send them to this school. There's a tremendous amount of homeschooling/tutoring in math, because Whitman just doesn't teach it. Students have to "discover" it. The LA department is great. Science is non-existent. Yes, there are good teachers to support, but their administration does not. The administration specializes in how to say "We can't help" in bureaucratic language. You have to work around them and so we do. But they have been aware of the problems in their math program for years and have failed to correct it. Principal is great with administration, but she couldn't lead her way out of a paper bag. I am a parent who is very involved in the Whitman community. I have been tremendously disappointed. Good music program though.