Northshore School District 417

I have lived in NSD by choice and at times very slim budget to have both of my kids attend this school district since 1996. My youngest (a ninth Grader) has a very complex set of special education and mental health needs. As the story goes teenagehood exasperated his needs. He was attending a Jr High in the Canyon Park area when this all started to unwind. Diagnoses and treatment is a time consuming and drawn out event at times.
The Jr High had a new and eager VP when he was in 8^th grade and she was in charge of «discipline», and very focused on perfecting the system in place for the school/​district. Although this is commendable at times you must listen and balance parent input with policy. The set of diagnoses my son has are hard to grasp and I get that, Ive had a rapid course of education in it to be able to fight for my sons rights and treatment.
This is a long story that starts in kindergarten. My son was tested and evaluated for an IEP 3 times before finally getting an IEP in 6^th grade, mostly because of a rockstar teacher at Shelton View elementary, Ms. Anderson. At the time I did not know the level of involvement I was allowed in decisions about his schooling, I was too busy trying to parent a kid that requires ²⁴⁄₇ high energy parenting.
Rather than make this a life story I will share the pros and cons…
–The assistant principal (Jr High) Made it very clear in an IEP meeting that she really did not know much about mental illness. Yet continued to give my son increasing disciplinary actions despite my sitting in front of her and all but begging to find another way of him paying back besides Saturday school or «in house suspension» (which is a desk in a 10×10 room for 2 days). I suggested washing desks, cleaning halls, lunch duty… because I knew this would be very aggravating for my son. She did not listen. BTW his worst offenses were riding his skateboard in the hall. forgetting detention, not dressing for PE and walking out of a class to the office because he had stated he could not be in the class any more due to the stimuli levels, and he was ignored. Minor but not criminal or due the level of «discipline» prescribed.
–The school counselor tried to appear sympathetic in a closed office 1×1 meeting and handed me a parenting class brochure and washed his hands. He also attended an IEP meeting with legs and arms crossed leaned back in his chair and questioned my ability to really know what my sons actions meant, of course he saw them as malicious.
–Although in direct written contact with the principal I never had the opportunity to meet him for at least a year in to the very long ordeal.
–Through months of fighting with the school admin (and an increasingly agitated kid) to try and educate them and beg they treat my son different, I pulled him out of school, enlisted an advocate, and communicated directly to the special ed director. Through all of this the principal never reached out to me to understand the issues.
–I will give accolades to the secondary special education director. She is sharp as a tack, Empathetic and understanding, an advocate for kids balanced with problem solving expertise. She’s a gem to the district. She is however bound by policy, it’s her job and it’s a tough one.
–Although this story does not have an ending yet it has been over a year and many IEPs, Evaluations, discussions etc. S.H. SE director was savvy to my sons needs and made sure he had learning materials and instruction to carry him to the end of this ordeal. I am confident we will come to a solution for the betterment of my son.
This story is complex and has many more aspects of blatant judgement and under education in the mental health area related to kids.
My take away is If Schools (specifically administration) are not educated in mental and behavior health REALLY fast we are in for pandemonium. Youth is where these issues need to be managed and discovered to avoid tragedy. It is very peculiar to me that a school official would admit no knowledge of mental illness and how it presents, really?
How will we ever help our kids and determine our future if we allow really great kids to suffer through misunderstandings and disregard for very common health issues? It’s going to get worse if not addressed from the top down.
If budgets would spend on advocacy, education, and empowerment vs. putting out fires it would help society and community as a whole in my opinion. Really the losers are our kids… education is there as a core part of their team to prepare them for the world. If they are in a constant battle to be understood and helped to no avail, it has an impact on the rest of their lives and wellbeing.
In whole this is one of the better districts with some rockstars who truly want to help kids. The lag in dealing with the problem from the top down creates a huge obstacle in the middle and it benefits no one!
Parents do research. Fight hard for your beloved babies. Try to educate educators. Period.
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I have been a life long resident of the Northshore school strict… I started as a student and returned to raise my family specifically to be in this school district. I pay substantially higher taxes to be in this school district, and am truly disappointed in the way things have gotten progressively worse even though our district’s levies ALWAYS pass and my taxes go up.
We have had some wonderful administrative staff, some wonderful teachers, and some wonderful principals throughout the years … but since the «new» superintendent has come on board common sense has been thrown out the window to follow district policy… by the book. No one seems to be able or willing to apply common sense to a policy handbook and so they interpret each sentence written as literally as they can to distribute «law» … of the book… seriously if they would go back to using their own judgement and common sense they would not have the issues that they do.
Oh and please do not tell me the district has no money for TEACHER SALARIES … quit building new administrative offices that you can’t afford and pay your teachers. Plus how come you need anywhere from 4 or 5 administrators in the front office to sit and gossip and look at each other and visit for 2 hours a day … wasted $$$. If you have two hours to gossip a day… you aren’t doing your work … send them to help the teachers grade papers, assist with lectures, prepare materials. anything. If I sat at my desk two hours a day and did nothing… I would get fired.

Sadly, this Bothell homeowner of decades and reliable School Levy supporter — will never vote FOR another school levy here. Northshore School District sucks. My reasoning follows;
1) I wrote a check to PREPAY for my child’s school lunches. Then WAMU bank collapsed. Northshore School District sent me a nasty letter threatening me with collections for an NSF check. I got a kick out it due to the banking crisis not registering with their system just yet. I wrote a lighthearted letter to them explaining the situation and letting them know I would prepay his lunches again when the new bank sends the new checks. They sent me a threatening letter telling me that I now had only 10 days before they would send me to collections — for money I did not owe by the way. And I had to pay an NSF penalty to Northshore for the bad check from the bank’s collapse. The food is processed and unhealthy anyway, we made lunches.
2) We approved a School Levy, then a second requested Special Levy in the same period. But the money was squandered. The elementary school my child attended was, and is, in poor condition with serious repairs needed. The same is true for the junior high afterward. In my line of work I see many schools. The systems and structures in these schools are in poor condition.
3) There are dysfunctional instructors. Assistance was as helpful as was possible but not effective.
4) The STEM program (science technology engineering & math) is a façade. There is a veritable palace newly built for this program but there is ZERO support for students who wish to put forth the effort to excel in these areas. I know this from first-​hand experience. Very frustrating and discouraging.
5) At the high school level there is a group-​think Bureaucracy between parents getting help for students, and the high school. I am in PTSA and I feel that the words that are said do not match the actions witnessed.
6) We built them a high-​end Performing Arts Theater which uses «school concerts» as fund raisers and auctions with a captive audience. They actually charged admission to come hear our children perform a regular concert. I boycotted and my child was sad.
7) One AP English instructor was in trouble for favoring a specific ethnic group of students at Canyon Park Junior High. I thought this was a racist and specious rumor, but it checked out.

This review is for the district– as a whole– and my overall experience in 20+ years of dealings with the District. This address is HQ of the Admin Offices.
More specifically, for my dealings with the District for IEP (individualized education plan) and other service needs for my oldest son (who has a learning disability).
The Northshore School District is hands down far superior to the Everett School District in the regard of implementing an IEP for an elementary school student.
That is, unfortunately, where their ‘win’ ends and their «FAIL» begins.
Getting the recommendations of both outside UW Dr.‘s and the Districts own staff actually implemented into reality is the most difficult experience you may ever face. You know the saying, «but it looks so good on paper»? That seems to be their motto. As long as, on paper, they appear to be following state regulations, district policy and doing everything possible to meet the child’s needs – they don’t care beyond that.
I don’t mean to be harsh in that regard, but I mean, they REALLY don’t care. In the 8+ years of dealing with the District, various schools, and various staff on behalf of my son, I believe it to be a systemic leadership, policy and education of staff issue with the District that we had such problems. Paperwork was routinely lost. Annual meetings were always late. Recommendations were never followed through on. Accommodations were faked or not given. Calls, emails, letters would go unreturned for weeks. When we could talk to people, it was always «I’ll look into it and call you back». I have been waiting, even now, for a response from the District at the Administrative/​Director level since early October. I’ve gotten a lot of apologies when I follow up, but never answers or assistance.
What turned me ‘against’ the District– if you wish to put it that way– my son’s IEP was written, and utilized, more like a «behavioral plan» and a disciplinary tool than anything else. Even when doing so violated District disciplinary policy or the state regulations. (A ‘normal’ child would get a warning first time, my son would get immediately suspended without notice. He once spent over 3 hours alone on the sidewalk down the street from school because they wouldn’t let him use the phone and didn’t call to alert us he’d been suspended «on the spot»)
The older he got, the worse it did as well. Little changed. Pages and pages of «He will not, He can not» for a child with almost zero behavior issues, and most of which were directly tied to his learning disability and have corrected themselves as he’s aged and matured, yet they remain in his IEP. (and also could have with the most basic cognitive therapy and such in his IEP)
The most frustrating part about that, is that he began to give up and just not care about school.
My son’s needs, the actual accommodations he required, are not difficult, expensive or altogether outside the normal classroom experience. I offered to purchase them or provide them myself, as well, and was repeatedly not allowed to do so. I shudder to think what a more severely disabled child and their parents must have to go through or ‘put up with’ to see to their child’s education.
There are many fantastic schools, and many fantastic teachers within this school District. Through the years, between me, my brother and my kids (even my oldest with all our struggles) have had some amazing experiences with truly caring and talented individuals.
My other children are now outside this District, and my oldest has chosen to finish High School in this District without an adequate IEP since it is his last year of HS, but I cannot recommend the Northshore School District, overall, for anyone considering a move here *IF* your child needs an IEP.
Should you (a) not know whether your child might need or benefit from an IEP, or (b) have advocates and lawyers already working with your family in this regard for your child – then I believe you may have a chance at a good experience with this District.