Kindergarten Options

I think it all depends what you want for your family and your kid. Definitely look around at all of the options. The school we ended up at was never on our radar. I have a kindergartener and a 2nd grader in Seattle Public Schools. The cost for full day K this year is $237. They say you can opt to do 1/2 day but they do not accomodate the 1/2 day kids. Your kid would miss math or writing or reading if he missed the second half of the day. Also, with sSPS, you need to go to your neighborhood school. The Northend schools are all quite full. You would likely end up in a large class. My daughter's K has 27 kids. Eeek! It is really difficult to get into the option schools (if you have twins you can run the possibility of getting one in but not the other). Also, if you get into a school other than your neighborhood school you have no guarantees that your next child will get into the same school. We had that issue last year and our daughter didn't get into our son's school until the day before school started (and they changed the rules after my son had started). At this point you know the rules and really don't have a leg to stand on. My point being if you want your children to all go to the same school go neighborhood school or private school.
There are great private schools out there and you should check them out. They may or may not work for your family for various reasons. There is definitely something to be said about smaller classes.
I don't know much about the Shoreline district but I think they have a good reputation. I have a couple of friends who are happy with their kid's education. Shoreline's gradeschools also go until 6th grade which I think is a selling point.
Remember with public school you will get kids and families from all walks of life. Every year my kids have been in school they have had at least one if not two very disruptive kids in their classroom. I look at it as our diversity in our NW Seattle neighborhood but the teachers easily spend 1/4 of their time working with those individual children.
I think it will be hard to go wrong as long as you are involved in your child's education. Make sure you take advantage of as many volunteer activities as you can. Watch your child play and who they play with.
It's pretty amazing to watch your children grow. This year I officially went out of the preschool business. So strange but not any less magical and exhausting.
Good luck with your decision. I know you will make the best one for your family. Remember you are not stuck there are lots of options.

We started out a private school and it was the school that I went to k-12th grade growing up.. But it had changed a lot larger school, class size was not working for my daughter.. She was struggling.. Spoke with her pediatrician and she recommended Shoreline Christian.. So we are there now with an 8 year old and 5 year old.. Love the small class size of 11 kids in my older dd class. And in kindergarten. They also have a great reading tutoring program included tuition. They have full and half day k. We went with full day because my dd was ready and is almost 6. Also now she is on the same schedule as my older child.. In full day k she gets to do computer class, gym, library, music and art class which she enjoys.
Best of luck.
L

We are in Seattle, and going through this right now too for our twin boys. Our neighborhood school is not ideal location wise-we are in the "walk zone" and the school is situated across 99/Aurora. Also, we plan to move in the next couple of years and ideally I want the kids to not have to change schools. Right now I am focused on the K-8 option schools, particularly the ones in North Seattle. The trouble is open enrollment isn't until March, so we won't know where the boys are going until next spring. We considered private, but we realized that we probably won't be able to afford it for 3 kids.

One other thing, if you are in Seattle proper keep in mind that nearly ALL the public schools will be full-day K next year. And most of them charge tuition for full day, I think $200+ a month.

I don't know a lot about the different options in Seattle (my daughter is entering this next year, too, so i've been looking but i feel overwhelmed as well).

The public schools web site says that full day kindergarten is preferred (about $280/month, i believe), but that you can opt out. I have heard, though, that some schools will technically allow you to opt out, but still charge the fee??? seems hard to believe. (You can qualify for tuition if you'd qualify for free-reduced lunch, if the money is an issue.)

My daughter goes to a private pre-school, and could stay there. It is a nice option in theory, but the cost is pretty prohibitive. (We have three kids.) Cost is definitely an issue.

Our current thought is that, since our neighborhood school is supposed to be good, we will try public school and hope not to have to deal with 12 x 3 more years of private school costs.

It is overwhelming! We decided to keep our daughter at her montessori preschool for kindergarten because they offered it and then she entered public school in first grade. We did this because our district had an alternating day kindergarten program for half time last year and we wanted every day half day. We wanted half day because our daughter still napped 2-3 days a week and we didn't think she had the stamina for all day. She probably could have handled it about January, but half day didn't hurt her any. We didn't have any academic or social
concerns and she had been in preschool, so half day was a good fit for us.
I am happy with the decision that we made. It worked for her to be in a more comfortable half day environment for one more year and this year she is a happy first grader.
I have never tried to change districts, but I know several people who live on the border of Shoreline school district and I don't think it is that hard to open enroll. I think as long as there is room, they will most likely allow it. Some districts appear harder to transfer into than others. It may just depend on size. Shoreline is a small district, so maybe that makes it an easier process. I'm not sure.
I saw that someone said that next year all Seattle schools will require full day. I would check into that if you don't want full day or if you don't want to/can't pay for full day. I don't see how they can make you pay if it is required. That just doesn't seem right.
Good luck! It is a hard decision.