Research Spectrum Community School public Schools in Mountlake Terrace, Washington

“this school is awsome it should be a ten out of ten...”

“I have been going to Spectrum for three years now. I love this school, and so do most of the other students that go there. It's more hands on learning, and each student gets way more individual time with the teachers, so your learning every minitue of the day! Spectrume is not designed for every one. It's a Human Rights school, every one there is treated with respect regauardless of race,creed,or color. Spectrum is more designed for students who love Arts, like Music, drawing, poetry, and Crafts, and Science and Math. We also do alot of community work, actually every year we go down to mexico and help build houses and schools.”

“I switched from North Kitsap High School to Spectrum over the course of my 10th grade year. I instantly felt relieved. The teachers and other adults at the school became good friends who I still keep in contact with and ask advice from. At once, I felt like I belonged. I LOVED going to school and my grades improved greatly. I learned more there than any regular high school could have taught me, and I am so grateful.”

“Spectrum is a rockin' school! my favorite things are the music and the human rights programs. I also love how involved the teachers get. They really wont give up on you! They have more of a chance to be more one-on-one with the students because there are less of them and they can give them the help they need, and they do it because they want to, not because they have to! Spectrum also allows you to find who you really are to, because you have more freedom to do it.”

“Spectrum is an awesome school. They are so involved in Human Rights and so concerned about their students, it's wonderful. I would give Spectrum a 10.”

“My son graduated from Spectrum. It was the best possible placement for him, in my opinion. Spectrum was small enough so that he received almost one on one instruction in most areas. His teachers supported his passions in learning. His interests branched out from an almost purely math and science perspective to include literature and writing. He was able to attend Running Start from Spectrum, and went on to a highly competitive college that accepted only one student per state per year. Teachers were extraordinary, for the most part. Their patience, interest, and caring made them stand out in high school education everywhere. I would say that the Student Bill of Rights theme makes Spectrum a school where students are prepared for the real world, where it is how one can interact and relate to people that gets one ahead as much as academic achievement. That said, I had some concerns about Spectrum. Academically, these are students who have not thrived in instutionalized schools where achievement is more important than human diginity and respect for individuality in learning. While Spectrum supports students as individuals, they need to focus on innovatations in methodologies that would integrate curriculm throughout the program. I believe that students would benefit from a less traditional approach to subjects, applying the best aspects of Spectrum to the area where Spectrum could use the most improvement. I would also caution other parents from making any decisions about Spectrum based on WASL tests alone. There is such a small percentage of students taking the WASL each year that the test scores presented here can hardly reflect the wonderful real life learning that takes place at Spectrum, such as the two Grammy awards the school has received for its music program, and the annual trips to Mexico. Also, as a grade ten to twelve school, Spectrum can hardly be held responsible for turning over a lifetime of other schools' failure to reach most Spectrum students in one term. Only a few students take the WASL, and half of those have been at Spectrum for less than a semester. Should a school be judged poorly based on test scores alone?”