FAQs

Morningside can now be found at our beautiful new building, located at 1605 17th Ave., at the corner of Madison Ave.

Our school serves a wide range of bright learners, grades 1 through 9. Many of our students are struggling to keep pace with their peers. Others are doing well but benefit from the small class sizes and positive learning environment.  Students who come to Morningside thrive on Robert Mager’s, “Nothing teaches like success,” as they find themselves finally successful in skills like comprehension, decoding or computation.

Prior to Morningside, many students have experienced some sort of difficulty in school. They may have gaps in a particular subject due to poor instruction. They may have experienced difficulty with homework and school became a struggle. Some students may be challenged with minor learning setbacks such as ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia.  We have students who are labeled gifted LD. We have students who are college bound and need to learn study and organizational skills in addition to studying content classes. We do not provide services for children with severe interpersonal, social or developmental deficits.

Our Foundations program typically serves 40-60 students with 4-6 faculty members. Our Accelerated program typically serves 20-30 students with 2-3 faculty members.

School hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.. On Wednesdays, students leave at 2:45 p.m. because our faculty participates in a two and a half hour seminar.

Morningside families come from all over Seattle and the surrounding area (see the map below). Many join a carpool, which our admissions director will organize! If you’re unsure if a current family lives nearby, ask our admissions director.

Many students also use public transportation. We’re a 10 minute walk from the Capitol Hill light rail station and there are several bus routes near our school. We highly encourage families to take advantage of the light rail. During the first weeks of the school year, we organize a “walking bus” from the Capitol Hill light rail station to the school, so students can learn how to walk together. This is a great way to build independence and sharpen executive functioning skills!

Morningside firmly believes that students should not do homework until they know how to! Parents should be parents and teachers should be teachers. Foundations program students do not have homework, while students in our Accelerated program take homeworking lessons before practicing those skills at home. When students are ready for homework, they only ever take home material that they’ve mastered in school. Homework should be for practicing newly learned skills, not for struggling to learn something new.

VERY LITTLE. We believe that learning is social. Research shows that students learn faster and retain longer when using pencil and paper. Students learn that digital technologies are tools to be used to accomplish very specific goals.

Students in our Foundations program spend less than 20 minutes a day on screens, only when practicing keyboarding skills. Students in our Accelerated program learn to word process, build presentation slideshows, and conduct research. They spend less than 20% of their instructional time using digital tools.

Morningside is device free. Students store their phones, watches, and other personal devices in our antique card catalog in the office!

All students receive a Daily Support Card. This travels with the student throughout the day from teacher to teacher and then home. We all use email and are happy to receive handwritten notes through the front desk as frequently as need be. We hold three conferences with the student and family and teacher in November, February and June. More frequent meetings can be arranged.

The average Morningside students enrolls for 2-3 years. Many students feel so successful at Morningside that they remain longer, moving into our Accelerated program where they master additional executive functioning and high school and college readiness skills.

Yes. Activities are chosen based on student interest. Friends of Morningside Academy, the volunteer parent organization, arranges for these classes. In the past we have offered coding, art, theater, yoga, leadership skills, sports, music, and sailing. Parents pay directly for these activities.