Billings Middle School

I highly recommend this stand-alone middle school. I have a seventh grader at Billings and some of the things that we really appreciate about the school are its relatively smaller size, excellent teachers who get to know your kiddo well, academically challenging them where they are at, and hands-on interdisciplinary academics that still allow for some breathing room in the evenings. School leadership is stellar, thoughtful and responsive. The advisory program is helpful, having one teacher checking in and assisting with executive functioning tasks. We also love that there is a strong focus on expeditionary learning with plenty of outside time and adventure. And daily, lunch and free time take place outside unless the weather is very intense. My son also enjoys the types of nurturing sports opportunities he has had such as bouldering, cross country, and Ultimate Frisbee. Possibly above all else, we value the thoughtful social emotional support for this very fascinating period of adolescence when such tremendous growth is taking place.

My son absolutely loved Billings and the small classes and individualized attention from teachers. As a kid with hearing loss, he benefited from the small school community. The school culture is such that teachers are approachable and kids learn that they are not just teachers but have full lives outside of school, which is something you don't get in a large public school. My son grew to love the outdoors through the expeditionary program, and he backpacks, hikes, and camps regularly, as well as plays ultimate frisbee, a skill that was nurtured at Billings. I attribute his maturity and willingness to try new things to his experience at Billings. He also was able to explore his passion for baking and cooking and got a job as a cooking assistant at our local grocery store. The advisory groups were awesome for instilling friendships and a community of support.

My son would like to say that this is the first school he genuinely enjoyed going to school every day! His parents initially chose this school because students genuinely looked like they were thriving in middle school, not just surviving. These folks truly GET middle school. We fell in love with the staff and the teachers, and quite frankly, the new Head of School who has helped to turn this place into a magical school. The administration is very thoughtful and caring and mindful of the decisions they make. All staff care deeply about the students and not just their academic success, but their social and emotional success too. Kids are stretched in their learning inside and outside the classroom. Not every school is for every person, but I would highly recommend looking at Billings if you want your child to be nurtured through a seemingly turbulent time in their life - middle school. Our child's transformation was nothing short of amazing!

Our son thrived during his time at Billings and he will be starting high school this Fall with the academic readiness, social-emotional skills and leadership qualities that I know will make him successful. The Billings administration was always open to feedback and questions and the teachers are professional, kind, and well-prepared for all the challenges of middle school students. Billings retains small class sizes and lots of one-on-one learning opportunities while also offering a similar array of activities as larger schools (and even more activities such as overnight camping trips). Billings is geared 100% toward middle school students which ensures that they know exactly how to educate and equip kids during these awkward but important years!

We are so grateful to have found this gem of a school; for us, it has been the perfect place for our kids to develop a strong sense of self. Our older is a kid who loves academics and found himself for the first time challenged to reach his full potential, while also learning to advocate for himself and to extend his own work. He also discovered in himself the ability to lead, to embrace the difficulty of learning from outdoor adventures, and to be seen and loved as himself with a range of friends. Our younger, a sporty, friendly kid, has also found a true home at Billings. Even in one year, he's made extraordinary growth in challenging himself academically and in discovering a core sense of self that allows him to resist peer pressures and embrace himself, while developing deep, meaningful friendships. Billings has been the perfect place for our middle schoolers to embrace academic excellence while developing the life skills for a happy, successful high school and beyond.

The experiential education at Billings gave me a strong academic foundation to take advanced math and AP courses in high school, excel at a top college, earn my Master's degree, and now teach university courses. It also pushed me to take on new challenges, whether in the classroom, on stage in the arts program, or on outdoor trips. Middle School is such a transformational time and I am glad I chose Billings instead of a 6-12 school - the high school that was right for who I was in 8th grade was not what my family thought it would be in 5th grade. I stayed incredibly close with my Billings friends through high school and college, even though we went to different schools. My trajectory into successful adulthood was set at Billings and I would not be where I am today if I hadn't had the personal attention and supportive challenges I had there.

Our child's transformation at Billings Middle School was nothing short of amazing. Every aspect of this school - from the front desk staff to the teachers, to the leadership is so dedicated to working with adolescents during some of the most pivotal years of their development. Their expeditionary program is so supportive and helps all students feel comfortable and included in the outdoor experiences, and the Billings Middle School Musical is not to be missed! After a rocky elementary school experience, Billings was not just a breath of fresh air, it was a lifesaver for us and not only helped our child to excel academically but to find and use her voice for good. We absolutely would recommend Billings Middle School to any family who is considering it!

There were many reasons why we chose Billings, but a primary selling point was that it was the one school we looked at that didn't frame middle school as a nightmare to survive with minimal trauma. Billings truly sees middle school as an opportunity, a time for exponential growth, and this perspective is reflected in their culture of joyful learning through failure and embrace of the inevitable challenges of adolescence. My child is thriving at Billings. In elementary school, my kid refused to participate in any activities or do more than the minimum work. Now he is happy to go to school each day and try new things, and he comes home talking about cool stuff he learned that day. He loves the teachers and feels that they really care about him and his learning. I've appreciated the school's responsiveness to my child's learning disabilities as well. Billings is a caring community invested in all students' success. We feel so lucky our child is spending his middle school years here.

Our son started 6th grade at Billings at the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year. We chose Billings because we wanted a supportive environment that would support our creative and quirky kiddo. They've delivered on all fronts! We've never seen him so excited about what he's learning. The teachers are doing a great job learning about our son and finding creative ways to engage him. He's trying new things and making good friends. We couldn't hope for more.

My daughter started at Billings this year, and we are so grateful she is attending. The teachers are dynamic, engaging, fun, warm, and accessible. The work she is doing is meaningful and challenging. Well before the start of the school year, Billings staff developed an intentional, thorough and safe plan for a balance of remote learning and in-person outdoor education opportunities. They have been incredibly organized, nimble, and communicative throughout these difficult times. They have managed to forge a close-knit community of learners, despite learning at a distance. I can even hear my daughter laughing with delight during her remote classes!

Billings has been a wonderful place for our oldest to thrive. The staff connect with students and do a wonderful job of teaching middle school and getting students to do deeper work while keeping it interesting and not just a grind to tick off the boxes. Our extrovert has gained the confidence to match her academic abilities and has learned skills to advocate for herself and others that she'll need as she moves to high school and beyond. Her experience encouraged her introverted brother to apply and while we're sure his experience will differ, we're confident that staff will engage just as effectively and he'll come away with skills we didn't know he had.

Billings Middle School is the best decision our family could have made for our son. The staff's commitment, compassion and dedication is exceptional as is the hands on, experiential approach to learning. This school changed our son's life, and our family will be forever grateful.

We sent our child to Billings 14 years ago and can now say, with high school, college, and graduate school under our belts, that Billings was a game changer for our kid. She still relies on the life lessons she learned there - to understand herself as a learner, to advocate for herself, and to work in teams. She learned grace and patience at Billings. The outdoor program taught her resilience, perseverance, and confidence. When she graduated from college back east, two of her Billings friends came to celebrate with her. The friendships built here are life long. I cannot say enough about how this school changed the trajectory of our daughter's education! It is one of Seattle's hidden gems.