Dearborn Park International School vs Viewlands Elementary School

Dearborn Park International School and Viewlands Elementary School rank among the best elementary schools in Washington state, separated by just 0.1 rating points — 9.5/10 versus 9.4/10 respectively. That gap is negligible in absolute terms, but both schools earn exceptional placement: Dearborn Park International School sits at #7 of 2225 schools in Washington while Viewlands Elementary School ranks #12 of 2225. Parents choosing between them are not choosing between a good school and a great one — they are choosing between two of the top dozen elementary schools in the state.

On the core academic measures, the two schools are effectively identical. Dearborn Park International School and Viewlands Elementary School each score 9.0/10 on academic proficiency and a near-perfect 9.9/10 on growth, meaning students at both campuses are advancing at exceptional rates relative to their starting points. A growth score of 9.9/10 at both schools is rare at any single school and extraordinary when two schools 11.0 miles apart in the same city share it. Parents who prioritize measurable year-over-year learning gains will find no meaningful difference here.

The schools diverge more clearly on demographics and classroom structure. Dearborn Park International School enrolls 326 students versus 267 at Viewlands Elementary School, giving it a larger campus by roughly 22 percent. The student-teacher ratio at Dearborn Park International School is 14.2:1 compared to 15.7:1 at Viewlands — a modest but real difference in per-student attention. The free and reduced-price lunch rate tells the starkest demographic story: 61% of Dearborn Park International School students qualify versus 38% at Viewlands Elementary School, indicating that Dearborn Park serves a substantially higher-poverty population and is achieving its top-tier results with greater socioeconomic diversity.

Both schools serve grades PK through 5. Dearborn Park carries an international designation, which typically signals a focus on global perspectives or language immersion — a structural program distinction that Viewlands does not share. Families specifically seeking that curricular focus within Seattle will find it only at Dearborn Park International School.