St Benedict School

4811 Wallingford Avenue North

Seattle, WA 98103

28 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on December 11, 2024

My child’s middle school experience at St Ben’s has been phenomenal. She is thriving academically and socially and our family is supported by a wonderful community.
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2024

St. Benedict School has been an amazing experience for my daughter who is elementary age. St. Ben's provides an outstanding educational experience with a strong student to teacher ratio in her class compared to other schools. We feel incredibly fortunate to be part of such a supportive and enriching community. Go St. Ben's Bears!
Submitted by parent on June 18, 2024

We have been happily attending this school for the last 2.5 years. We're a small warm school with a fantastic community. Though it is a Catholic school, most kids are not Catholic. All are welcome.
Submitted by other on July 29, 2023

They did nothing about the extreme bullying or horrid teachers. I got called slurs IN FRONT OF TEACHERS and nothing was ever done. Told on a kid for threatening to shoot me and nothing happened except I got called a snitch for the rest of my time there. Kids repeatedly called other kids slurs and other insults. Group punishment was used frequently and regularly to the extreme. They allowed teachers to play favorites and least favorites. Sex ed was non existent. The education was good, but I’m going to be in therapy for years due to anxiety from all the bullying.
Submitted by other on June 05, 2023

Our family feels so lucky to have found St.Ben’s. We are not Catholic but appreciate the focus on community. The teachers truly love the kids and Principal Anderson partners and communicates well with parents.
Submitted by parent on April 07, 2022

Truly an amazing school and a sigh of relief from public. I have one daughter attending the school and she has had a wonderful experience over several grades.The teachers focus on the ABC’s of education, making sure the students have the tools they need to succeed in high school and beyond.Strict? Yes, there is a greater expectation there, and homework especially once you get to fifth or sixth grade, so that does keep students focused.I would say the school is best set up for students and their parents who want to be engaged and who have no major learning disabilities that might be better handled at a specialty setting. For parents who prefer to just drop their kids off and pick them up every day without making an effort to engage in the community, that would not be optimal.
Submitted by parent on April 07, 2022

My child’s teacher at this school completely lacked empathy and made the classroom feel like a clique. The school is very small and it is hard to break into the culture if you do not attend from early on. I met with the vice principal one day and left crying due to her insensitivity - she was extremely condescending. The parents at this school are rather insular as well, so I definitely got a taste of what my daughter was going through. We are now at a larger and more diverse Catholic school that has a warmer staff and my daughter is doing much better.
Submitted by parent on June 30, 2021

We are so thankful that we found this school for our daughter. The staff is kind and caring but they can also be stern, if discipline is required. We plan for our child to attend St. Ben’s from kindergarten all the way through to eighth grade.Someone described the school as a “neighborhood gem” and we could not agree more. We love St. Benedict!
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2019

We have been at this school for 6 years and both of my kids have done very well. The small class size helps them to stay focused on school work and to get individual attention when needed and the relationships between students are strong. The parent community is involved and we drive a lot of the improvements in the school - addition of cultural field trips, parent education nights, social gatherings outside of school, addition of student council, school counselor and wider variety of after school activities. The benefits of being at a small school are numerous with easy teacher communication, early intervention when problems arise, and a comfortable environment for the kids to feel safe and "like family". I am surprised to read another review where a child felt left out and picked on - that is typically not tolerated as there is a heavy emphasis on inclusion and friendliness starting in preschool. Overall we have loved our experience at St. Bens and would highly recommend it to anyone. Our children are thriving here.
Submitted by parent on February 12, 2019

I find the many 5 star reviews over a 3-4 month period to be quite suspect. My child’s experience at this school was traumatic. My child was ostracized by classmates and picked on by the classroom teachers (my child had two teachers who worked on different days). All of the parents and students seemed to have formed their cliques by kindergarten and outsiders do not seem welcome. I would go to school events and literally no one would talk to me. Class sizes were not much better than public school. I am very sorry that I subjected my child to this school environment.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2019

An amazing experience. Our kids are very happy in the this amazing community. We are very thankful everyday that we switch from our public school to St Bens. The small class, dedicated teachers and the strog academic track record are just a few of the reasons. The kids never want to come home from the aftercare that is fully affordable and flexible. We have been more involved with St. Bens and the community in the year we have been there then then 4 years we were at our old school. The families and all nice and we want to be around them. Overall an amazing experience for my family.
Submitted by parent on December 03, 2018

We love the school, the community, the small classes and the dedicated teachers. It is a hidden gem in our community.
Submitted by parent on November 28, 2018

We have two children at St Bens and have been there a total of 5 years. We were drawn to the school by the strong community feel of the school. We also love the small classes and great teachers. One comment is that we have experienced a transition with some teachers over the past years primarily due to life changes (births, moving, etc). But there also are teachers that have been there for many years. I assume both scenarios are not uncommon at other schools.An added plus has been the after school and holiday care that is on site. As both parents in our household work full time, we appreciate a cost effective and easy solution right there at the school. And our son loves it there. Our daughter is currently in middle school so now walks to a friend's home or QFC to hang out with friends until we pick them up. I would highly recommend St Bens for both Catholic and non-Catholic families (we have one Catholic parent and one not).
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2018

This school has been wonderful for both of our children and our family.Despite our family not being Catholic (more than half of the school is not Catholic), the community is welcoming and vibrant both of students and their families. One of my favorite aspects of the school is the relationship between the younger and older students and the respect they have for each other. The little ones look up to the older ones and the older ones take care of and watch out for the little ones. In addition, the level of confidence and maturity of the kids who graduate from St. Ben’s is impressive and unmatched. The school prepares students for high school academically as well as socially.I am so happy we are a part of this school and this community.
Submitted by parent on April 12, 2018

Relocating to Seattle last summer, it was imperative we took everything into consideration relating to the transition of our two young children (both under the age of 7). Different living arrangements, in addition to a new school can be overwhelming, and we prayed for the best possible outcome. I can say with confidence; I can attribute our seamless transition largely to the St. Bens community. As a family we were embraced immediately. Wurst Fest was a great way to meet other families early in the year, and our children quickly began to flourish.
Submitted by parent on March 12, 2018

My two children have thrived at St. Benedict. Teachers challenge them whenever and wherever needed. The small class size allows teachers to give individual attention and instruction. Friendships across grades are encouraged, which provides the older ones the chance to become role models while the younger ones benefit from older kids' perspective. Great community which encourages friendship among the families.
Submitted by parent on February 26, 2018

I have 2 children who have been attending St. Benedict School for the past 5 years. This is our parish school but we looked at many others (public and parochial) to ensure we would find a good fit. We were impressed by the parent involvement, teacher quality, small class size, and the behavior we observed in the students (very polite kids!). The small size of the school is wonderful with reasonable class sizes and lots of individual attention from the teachers, plus the kids all know each other. Kids who are academically advanced or those who need extra help have regular time with the "specialist" teachers to meet their needs. The teachers follow Common Cores standards and they do not rush kids through the work, instead making sure everyone understands the topic before moving on. The homework load feels appropriate with some worksheet-based assignments, some optional computer-based work, longer term projects starting in 3rd grade, and a nightly reading requirement. The teachers are easily contacted via email with rapid response times for any concerns or questions. There are ample opportunities to get involved in the school through volunteering and parents do form a close community here. There are opportunities for classroom volunteering, leadership involvement, coaching sports, chaperoning field trips, planning for the school fundraisers, and more. The small size allows easy communication with the principal with a willingness to listen and make changes based on parent input.The school puts a strong emphasis on caring interactions and that is clear in the way kids act towards each other. I regularly see middle school aged kids helping younger ones and the recess games often involve kids from several grades. The reading buddy program is awesome - older kids read to younger ones every week - and the "family group" that brings students from each grade together regularly throughout the year for fun activities, also helps maintain that whole-school connection. My daughter had some issues with teasing last year and the teachers were very responsive and helpful so that the problems were quickly stopped. They use a pro-active anti-bullying curriculum to help kids understand the expectations for behavior and to promote a safe environment at school.We have had a wonderful experience at St. Ben's and highly recommend it to others on a regular basis.
Submitted by parent on February 22, 2018

Fantastic neighborhood school! It’s the school experience all kids deserve to have. Many families like mine are not Catholic, but the school is so good that we don’t mind the uniforms.
Submitted by parent on February 12, 2018

Our children love St. Ben’s. We were introduced to the school when we randomly chose to attend a Sunday evening mass and have never looked back. Our children are both excelling in academics because of the kind and caring teachers who are very passionate about what they do. When our oldest was struggling a bit with reading they were quick to get her help with a specialist and within a few months we are right back on track. Our youngest has learned more in a few short months than we ever expected. His retention of letters, songs, yoga and more than we can list is very exciting and impressive. While there is homework, it always seem to be within reason. Outside of the academics, we found the the community is unmatched. The families are friendly, welcoming and are equally passionate about creating a great environment for the children of the school. It is definitely a parent run school which means there is plenty of volunteer opportunities and chances to be involved.
Submitted by other on August 07, 2016

This school says it has a program for students with mild disabilities. My experience with my child at this school was dreadful. The principal and the resource room teacher were great. The classroom teachers treated my kid like a second class citizen and clearly have no clue about even mild disabilities in children. They picked and picked about every little thing my child did. He was being bullied and the teacher commented that perhaps he had "brought it on himself." The teacher also stated that the students who were bullying my child were "the nice kids" so it couldn't be true. There was absolutely no understanding of what it must feel like to be the "new kid." No attempt to try to make him feel included. And I didn't find the parent community very welcoming - it kind of felt like you were "in" if your child had went there since preschool or kinder, but otherwise, forget it. We are having a MUCH better experience in public school. The students are kinder and the teachers actually have some empathy and knowledge of disabilities.