The Meridian School

I would highly recommend the Meridian School to anyone looking for a nurturing school with a strong community that supports the whole child. Set in the beautiful Meridian Park, the students are encouraged to learn and care about their surroundings. They integrate project-based learning into their daily studies so that there is a connection between academics and their specialists (which includes science, art, PE, Spanish, creativity lab and library). My kids were always excited about going to school and I believe that stems from a staff that is caring, engaging and genuinely passionate about teaching. Outside of the school, there is a very strong community that hangs out on the playground after school, volunteers on the parent committee or in the classroom, organizes parent nights out or annual class camping trips, and more. My kids will definitely look back fondly on their time at Meridian for all of the wonderful experiences they got to partake in, like field trips, overnights and an interesting day-to-day program.

Both of my kids have had an incredible experience at The Meridian School. We have been impressed with the dedication of the teachers, the global citizen ethos of the curriculum, the strong emphasis on caring for others and social justice, the focus on the arts and STEM, and the ability to differentiate learning within the classroom so that our kids (who tested into the HCC program in SPS) are being challenged with special projects, extension work, and small group breakouts during the school day. Whenever we have had a concern and raised it, our children's teachers have responded and acted immediately to address the situation and have involved others (the school psychologist, counselor, and principal) as needed. Our kids feel safe, seen, and valued at Meridian. They come home each day excited about school and learning and connected to their community at school. Literally, since we joined Meridian, every time we ask our kids how their day was, they respond with "it was a great day!" and then proceed to tell us about their day. No school is perfect, but for us, Meridian is about as ideal of a K–5 school experience as we would want for our kids.

The Meridian School has truly fostered a joy of discovery and challenge within my children. Small class sizes, flexible learning groups and individualized instruction have really helped my younger child excel academically. The teachers quickly identified needed support in literacy, created an intervention plan and worked with my child multiple times a week to improve her reading skills. Now she confidently reads chapter books and loves reading. Students rotate through art, science, Spanish, music, health and fitness and creativity lab each week. My children love all the specialist programs, but they especially look forward to creativity lab where each week they work in the school's dedicated maker space to use a wide range of tools while completing STEM projects ranging from robotics to coding to animation. In grades 3rd-5th, students complete a total of five grade -level overnight trips to Camp Seymour, the Mount Rainier Institute, IslandWood, Mountain School at the North Cascades Institute and NatureBridge. The opportunity to gain real-world field experience has been invaluable for my older child to develop skills related to team building, critical thinking and problem solving. The teachers and staff are caring, proactive and responsive in addressing students' academic needs and social-emotional wellbeing. The integrated curriculum centered on experiential learning engages my children daily and propels them to take risks, challenge themselves and advocate for themselves and others. The Music Makers program offered after school sparked my older child's interest to learn to play an instrument and the addition of the Continental Math League enrichment program offered before school has spurred both children to advance their math skills. The Extended Day program gives students the opportunity to take after school classes in sewing, acting, computer coding, chess, skating, gardening, karate and more. Both my children love the Extended Day program and its staff, which provides children daily until 6pm and offers early drop off at 7:30am. Our family has made wonderful friends at the school and the community is incredibly welcoming.