Mercer Island High School

Posted: February 14, 2025

We have had a wonderful experience with Mercer Island High School. One of our daughters has already graduated, and our younger daughter is set to graduate this year. Both have been accepted into outstanding colleges, and we couldn’t be happier with the education and support they received at MIHS.

Our older daughter was exceptionally well-prepared for college, making the transition smooth, while our younger daughter gained admission to a highly competitive school—something we attribute in part to MIHS’s strong reputation. One was deeply involved in theatre, and the other excelled in sports, both benefiting from outstanding programs that enriched their high school experience.

Beyond academics and extracurriculars, the Mercer Island parent community has been incredibly supportive. We’ve had the pleasure of meeting families who care deeply about their children’s education and the school as a whole. Our time at MIHS has been nothing short of exceptional, and we are truly grateful.

Posted: February 14, 2025

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Posted: October 27, 2024

DO NOT CHOOSE THIS SCHOOL IF YOUR CHILD IS ON AN IAEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am saying this from my experience as a former student who actually pushed my family to move back to where we originally came from and after living there for exactly three years, we left because it was HORRIBLE. I know a lot of public education as my parents are public administrators and were my whole life and I have to say no matter what, IAEP or not, Students here are much more miserable than the current school I moved back to. This is because the teachers have a toxic union which I absolutely do not like because they only care about how much they get paid, which the teachers here do make a good amount of money, but they don't care much about other students' mental health by giving them over the top deadlines, and strict grading guidelines. As a student with an IAEP, it was a living hell at the main campus as not a vast majority of my teachers, but a good portion of them did not want to do specific accommodations and would do very little to support me or others in that matter, I honestly only liked a couple teachers and thought couple of them were exceptional and even they thought the system could be messed up for other students. Safety wise really is not good, I don't mean like violence, but rather social bullying. I suffer from trauma due to past experiences and some of the conduct the students act upon are absolutely horrific. I will bring up administration, which is not the best in my experience, but they wanted to help me out but were not usually successful in doing so. I think they could have done a much better job of being proactive in this kind of stuff. I am going to be upfront without giving any information on who, but a teacher I had one year would call me out in front of my peers because I would screw up on an assignment, and this teacher would refuse to do a lot of my accommodations. I left this school because of all this, and I want to say of the two high schools I have gone to in my life that the one I moved back to is far better than Mercer Island, and all though it is a prestigious area and school district, don't be fooled! There are other school districts in the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett area that aren't as exceptional as the one I go to currently but are far better than Mercer Island. If you really want to send your kid who has ADHD or is on the spectrum that you apply for CREST, it leaves them away from the main campus, but the teachers there are some of the bests!

Posted: October 27, 2024

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Posted: December 13, 2023

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Posted: December 13, 2023

The math and science department have long been problematic. Post pandemic, the district spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new math curriculum, without providing the appropriate professional development and training for teachers to properly implement the curriculum that is supposedly more inclusive to all learning styles. So, no improvement in learning skills or mastering concepts.
Over 100 students, at $8000 a math class, take math classes at a private learning center instead of at the high school. That says it all about the math program. Many teachers are not engaging, not preparing students for college or careers and vocations. They teach the lowest bar math in class and send kids home with more rigorous assignments to do with math tutors. Any success you see in math or science is because students are being tutored and parents are paying for that. While MIT and other prestigious schools for math and technology once accepted students from Mercer Island high school, they no longer do. They know the science and math program is a joke, there’s not even a STEM program. No engineering. Nothing for tech either. Come to Mercer Island and get a math and science education your parents did in the 80s. Oh and, you’ll need to hire someone to teach your student how to use their laptop — each student gets a Xerox Alto. The district isn’t going to help them learn how to use technology tools for the 21st-century. They do have a class to learn how to use the Cotton Gin though!

Posted: August 29, 2023

We moved here for the schools - which have been exceptional - and stayed for the community.

Our children went thru Lakeridge, West Mercer E2 program, IMS, and MIHS.

Continually challenged with AP courses, engaging instruction, and friendly helpful peers.

Regarding other negative reviews: If your child is not interested in learning, this is probably the wrong district for you. The kids here are passionate, creative, and work hard. They push and support each other to excel. Very few cliques; no "popular" groups - actually the "popular" kids are the interesting ones - engaged in classes, sports, or the arts. There is room for all passions.

What was surprising - and awesome - was that I did not have to encourage my children to study. Their peers did - simply for the love of learning. So I can see that if your child struggles to connect with others - due to learning/emotional disabilities - then MISD may be a struggle. That translates to poor reviews by bitter parents.

In conclusion, this is a wonderful small engaged school district that is well worth our effort to move here. Good luck!

Posted: August 29, 2023

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Posted: March 18, 2021

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Posted: March 18, 2021

We moved here primarily for the schools. Overall, it's a very small school district which keeps the curricula at the HS level very limited. We moved out of state for a few years and by contrast in a much larger district, the middle and high schools had Latin, a 4-year college credit-qualified course of engineering classes, a debate team, and a much more developed math curriculum at the high school level. (MIHS has none of those.) There were also much more inclusive academic competition programs for students. The 1st thing you should know is that the band director is the highest paid employee of the school district, and the band program runs this island. If your child is serious about music, this is great. If your child loves music and it is a big part of their life for recreational purposes, but your child does not have a single-focus devotion to music at a very high level, you should be prepared to see all other programs and activities they participate in be deprioritized for the band program. Don't get me wrong: the band program is amazing. The issue is that there's no balance, and not every kid wants band as their #1 priority. Your kid will literally be pulled mid-varsity competition from their sport to participate in a band event, if there is a conflict. Conflicts will not be resolved in favor of other activities. Other activities directors (including the AD) will not advocate for their students or their programs vis a vis the band. The other main thing about Mercer Island is that it's very content to rest on its laurels and generally, already being convinced of its own greatness, does not strive for continuous improvement. It has been fully eclipsed recently by Newport, Lake Washington, and other schools in the Bellevue School District, which admittedly is a bigger district which may help it offer more to students. The district will do everything to avoid qualifying your child for Special Education services. Internally and externally they will pit the Hi-Cap program against Special Ed, creating and fueling division among parents (assuming there aren't parents with one kid in each of those categories - which is what I am, so I see both sides of this). For example when the high school cut advanced Calculus recently, the principal's public statement was that literally she would've liked to keep it, but she needed the funding for Special Ed. This is unhealthy and despicable behavior but not unique, unfortunately. Caveat emptor!

Posted: July 4, 2016

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Posted: July 4, 2016

Very disappointed. The teachers are not effective at motivating or inspiring students.

At the end of the year I heard students say they felt so glad to be done with school.

The school fails to build a love of learning or build self esteem.

I didn't have a positive experience and don't recommend this school.

Posted: June 24, 2015

My daughter went straight through Mercer Island schools from K-12. It is a tough school district, but she rose to the occasion. She was constantly being challenged by her peers, as all of the kids come from high achieving backgrounds. I moved here specifically for the schools and I could not have made a better decision. She was leaps ahead of her 3 year older cousin in Seattle Public Schools. She would show her, a straight A student how to do her homework. She would say, "Oh we learned that last year...let me show you". Move ahead 8 years. She has her dream job. Makes more than me already. And she graduated from her chosen college with NO DEBT. She got an academic scholarship at 50 percent. She also got accepted into every college that she applied to. I am so proud of her. Please believe me the higher home prices on island were worth her not getting any college debt. Also, I might mention she graduated with only a 3.2, but with a super high SAT score and Mercer Island nationally known as a high performing school she had her pick of the all colleges she applied at.

Posted: November 11, 2014

My kids went through this school and it is making some very good changes to make it even better. It has all the benefits and drawbacks of a upper-middle class school district.

Posted: August 29, 2014

My child has had major issues being confronted with drug and alcohol use on a daily basis while at MIHS. It is a very unhealthy culture of wealthy, spoiled, substance-abusing children. All the good teachers in a school cannot compensate for a hostile learning environment.

Posted: August 24, 2014

Mercer Island High School is what you make of it. In terms of education, our school excels in most subjects aside from math. The main problem I have with the education at my school is that the regular classes are very easy and the honors are very hard. There is no in between. You either have little homework or 7 hours a night. For the most part I have had very caring teachers who do their best to help me learn. The main problem I have with my school is some of the students that attend it. In terms of drugs, I would say Mercer Island is about the same as every other public high school, no worse or no better. It is very easy to avoid doing drugs if you are a student, but if you want to do drugs, it is very easy to get them. The thing I dislike is the cliques. A lot of the people at my school are very rude and condescending, and a lot of them lack empathy for others. Granted, you can find people who are not like that, but those who are make Mercer Island High School a very negative place. Attend Mercer Island at your own risk, our school looks good on college apps and we have great statistics, but at times it can be very bad.

Posted: April 27, 2014

As an active parent in the PTA I see the hard work put in by the administration, staff and parents to provide quality educational, sports, and leadership opportunities and programs in a positive environment with a culture of success. Go Islanders!

Posted: April 27, 2014

Amazing! Our staff does everything they can to ensure students are feeling welcome, included and are engaged in the classroom. The administration makes sure we have clubs and activities that support all different types of students and personalities.

Posted: April 7, 2013

My school is amazing. Went to Issaquah High for two weeks and realized what a mistake it was and moved back to this district. Kids are much better dressed. Teachers are amazing... Don't know what's up with all the other people saying it is bad.

Posted: January 25, 2012

Mercer Island High School is not as good as the principal said; it is a lousy school and some of the math teachers don't know what they are doing.

Posted: January 24, 2012

Compassionate, dedicated teachers, and high standards, I'd like to give this school a higher rating. Unfortunately, there are over-crowded classrooms, incredibly spoiled kids and the place is riddled with drug-use/drug deals. The attitude of parents seems to be "If the kids are achieving in sports and academics I'll look the other way."

Posted: December 16, 2011

Very good school with engaged students, parents and teachers. High achievement rates in and out of the classroom -- extracurricular are strong as are music, debate and athletic programs. Typical challenges for suburban high schools exist...but they are generally handled well. Always some areas for improvement (currently: some language areas, consistency among teachers, more reading/writing assignments in all levels of classes). There is a principal opening....the previous one left after 6+ years to get on the superintendent track in another district. Should be a great job for a leader who has a vision for the future -- is willing to make some important changes (see above) but most of all wants students to learn, love learning and be successful for their next step 9nearly 100% go to college).

Posted: September 26, 2011

Mercer Island is an absolutely fantastic high school! I could go on for pages describing why it is. Let me break it down for you. 97% of MIHS grads attend a four year college after high school. It is an expectation at MIHS to do well in school and not slack off and skip. Our school has won the Washington State Scholastic Cup for the past two years that means our athletes grades averages were the highest in the state. Athletically Mercer Island is a true power house. We won state in 5 sports last year and won districts in many more. Around 80% students are involved in some form of athletics. MI also has a great culture. Kids usually enjoy school for the most part. Another cool thing is that all new kids find friends to hang out with within 3 days easy here. The students at MI simply are really nice, there is little to no bullying, no fights, no gangs. The kids are no where near to being spoiled little rich kids like so many of you believe. Our Achilles heel however is drinking. Its true that a lot of people drink alcohol occasionally on MI but its just because their friends are. Overall Mercer Island is a great school but i believe it is the Students that make the culture so good.

Posted: May 15, 2011

To justify drug and alcohol use by saying "well, everyone does it" is a huge cop out. Everyone doesn't do it and there's simply no excuse not only for the rate of drug and alcohol use here, but for the parents who allow it. MIHS is a good school; but only if you fit the mold. The Mercer Island mold, is rich, pretty/handsome, athletic, and rich. Anyone else is in for bullying, being ignored by teachers, and left to drift. MIHS is not a great school. Kids do well because they have parents who can afford outside tutoring. It's well known on the island that we have a private/public school system. The faculty here are mediocre at best.

Posted: May 9, 2011

As a former principal of MIHS, I am proud and pleased to see thisForbes.com objective measuring of schools rather than the Newsweek rating. That rating is determined by dividing the number of seniors in a school, into the number of students that took AP exams that year. A simple quotient does not fully measure the quality of a school. Having lived in the shadow of our neighboring school district placing two or three of their high schools on the "Newsweek Top 100 High Schools" list for years, it is gratifying to see this truly deserved recognition. A significant factor of this recognition is that it includes all of the schools in the city. This reflects the very high level of parent support and interest we have consistently seen at MIHS.

Posted: May 6, 2011

BEST SCHOOL EVER! MIHS is the best school in the entire nation. It is filled with the most intelligent, athletic, social, and well-rounded students around. I have never seen or heard of a better school!

Posted: April 9, 2011

This school is an incredible school all the parents and students who criticize Mercer Island High School probably did not do well academically. Our school is well known for the excellent teachers and our school does give out hard grades, but these grades are weighted so colleges know Mercer Island is a tougher school system and look at your GPA in a different way. Parents freak out when their child doesn't get an A and they pull them out and put them in private schools where they think they are getting a better education. They really aren't. You may say there's a lot of drinking and drug use but really its just as normal in many other ares and they are TEENAGERS. Honestly students are going to be introduced to these things in college so wouldn't you rather have your child learn their lesson in high school instead of in college when your future career depends on you being successful in college? moving to Mercer Island is a big obstacle but life's full of them so put on your big girl panties a deal with it.

Posted: November 16, 2010

Now people might think that because of the high test scores and the student drop out rate that MIHS is a great school, but it is not. MIHS has one of the worst drug and alcohol problems I've ever heard of, mostly due to parents. Parents on Mercer Island are more into defending their children rather than protecting their children. If there is a problem they simply hire the best lawyer they can get to keep their children out of trouble. The Mercer Island police department also does not do much to combat this problem as I have rarely heard of somebody actually getting in serious trouble. If I were a parent, I would consider it after looking at how great the academics are, but reject it after how terrible everything else is.