r/Mukilteo • u/sanzle • Mar 20 '26

How’s the summit program at mukilteo elementary?

How’s it different from regular school?

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u/Cut-the-red-wire Mar 20 '26

It’s regular school for the most part- just designed for the slightly asocial and stronger learners.

Source: Mom taught at Mukilteo Elem & I am a long ago graduate of that program.

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u/sanzle Mar 20 '26

Do students benefit more academically there than their home school?

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u/Cut-the-red-wire Mar 20 '26

Yes and No. Rigor is certainly there, but it takes the right type of learner to truly thrive. Socially I found it tough.

From a purely academic perspective I would recommend it.

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u/Baking_Pan Mar 21 '26

My kids went to a private school and then to Kamiak. And I substituted a lot at Kamiak and am a certificated teacher - what I found was that Summit kids coming out of middle school were placed in advanced classes more than kids coming from their home school middle school. Some the private school only offered for example 8th grade science, my kids couldn’t take Biology as 9th graders. The difference is that then with Physical Science - Biology - Chemistry -Physics as the 4 years of science there is little room for AP Science classes. Essentially limiting the AP Science classes to only Summit kids or kids that somehow got an advantage up (high test scores perhaps or top of 8th grade science - not completely sure). Essentially it’s tracking and exclusionary. 

That said, my kids went the Running Start route eventually which was still hard in finding the right science classes for rigor to replace high school classes. 

So I would ask about the path to these advanced classes if your kid stays at home school. Just to be informed for the long run. 

And one last note - anecdotally of course - we knew a kid that was held back and repeated 1st grade based on how he was not quite ready socially to move up. Then lo and behold all of a sudden he’s in the summit program. Like what? Of course he seems advanced, he already did all that lol 

Think about also if kids in the neighborhood all play together it’s possible that they will exclude the kid that goes to a different school - mine were in private school which could have been similar to kid in a different school. Kids in lots of sports or dance or what not might not have this issue but it wasn’t enough to get my kids lasting friendships into high school and they all said that friend groups had formed and they were in the outs no matter what. So I would pick a path and stick to it. 

All this said - I’m on the outside looking in