Mercer Island turns to outside students

With a Madison Avenue flair for marketing and an attractive cursive font, the Mercer Island School District advertises itself on its Web site as "Simply Exceptional."

It has good reason to make the claim. Its WASL scores are the highest in the state, and 95 percent of its graduates go on to college.

But this island of high-priced waterfront homes is facing the same demographic challenges as other close-knit suburbs: The population is aging and enrollment is down, the result being that more than $500,000 could be lost annually in state education funding. Rather than make cuts to its highly rated programs, the district is doing what many savvy businesses do — stepping up its marketing efforts.

This past September, the district quietly opened its enrollment to off-island students for the first time in 15 years. Forty-four transferred in, the majority from Renton and Seattle.

Interim Superintendent Gary Plano said the experiment has been so positive that the district is now accepting applications for about 80 additional spots for the next school year.

"We're pleased to be able to offer the opportunity. We think this is a great public-school system," he said.

Around the country, suburban districts faced with falling enrollments and increasing competition from private and charter schools have turned to marketing strategies to attract and retain students, including billboards, magazine ads and — in the case of one California district — a movie.

Some big-city school districts are countering by expanding their educational offerings and publicizing their range of choices with glossy brochures and identifiable brands.

A communications audit of Seattle Public Schools released in September faulted the district for its lack of a "robust" outreach strategy and its less-than-catchy slogans, which included, "Every student achieving; everyone accountable."

Plano said it's "very common" for parents in the Puget Sound region to shop for a school district. The state's open-enrollment policy allows students to transfer from their home district to another, provided the receiving district has space and that the entering student has no lengthy suspensions, criminal convictions or history of violent or gang-related activity.

Few districts in Washington try to sell themselves to any but their own families, but some attract students without trying. The Shoreline district, which for years enjoyed an excellent reputation, draws about 700 out-of-district students annually, including about 300 from Seattle and 300 from Edmonds. Mukilteo enrolls 440 out-of-district students, about two-thirds from the much-larger Everett district and one-third from Edmonds.

The prospect of one district actively competing with another for students and the accompanying state funds strikes some school administrators as wrong. Edmonds Superintendent Nick Brossoit said he "wouldn't want to be a part of" a plan that used public money to market one district at the expense of another.

Mercer Island's efforts have been deliberately low key. The district produced a color brochure that explains the open-enrollment application process and requirements. It plans to distribute the brochure to city of Mercer Island employees and local businesses. The district will accept transfer students on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on space availability. Parents must provide transportation.

Elisabeth Gasca transferred her two children to Mercer Island in September after she and her husband separated last year and she could no longer afford private-school tuitions. She worried that the public schools in her South Seattle neighborhood were overwhelmed with high-needs students. As many as 80 percent of the students in her neighborhood schools come from low-income families, and almost 40 percent are learning English.

"I figured the focus would be on these other kids trying to understand," she said.

She heard about Mercer Island's open enrollment and thought it was a way to get her kids an excellent education and at the same time ease the family's financial strain. The experience, she said, "has been great."

Her son struggled to learn to read last year in kindergarten, to the extent that she hired a private tutor. At Mercer Island's Lakeridge Elementary, he received extra help within a week of starting first grade.

"Not only am I not paying tuition; I'm not paying for tutoring, too," she said.

Her middle-school-age daughter cried when her mom proposed the move and again after she returned from registration during the summer.

Gasca said her daughter complained, "There's not any black kids." And that's still the biggest drawback for the family. Just 2 percent of Mercer Island students are African American and 2 percent Hispanic. About 18 percent are Asian American.

"We always wanted the kids to be in diverse schools because that's the world they live in," Gasca said.

Another potential downside is keeping up with the island's affluent families.

But Gasca said her children have been warmly welcomed. Her middle-school daughter, she said, "has been invited to all the bar mitzvahs, the bat mitzvahs, the parties. She's doing something every weekend."

Gasca's sister, Tracey Richartz, also transferred her three children to Mercer Island from Renton and Bellevue Catholic schools. She said teachers have challenged them academically and kept in touch with her through weekly e-mails.

"They've been amazing to work with," she said.

Her high-school-age daughter could not continue to play volleyball at Mercer Island High School. State rules, designed to prevent recruiting, forbid high-school athletes from transferring from one high school to another and continuing to play the same varsity sport.

On the plus side, her daughter already has met with counselors about college options and been offered free tutoring and after-school help.

Both families are planning to reapply to Mercer Island next year. The district can't guarantee enrollment for out-of-district students beyond one year, but those now attending will get priority over new transfers.

Enrollment in the 4,000-student district fell by 123 students over the past three years, a decline that is unlikely to reverse itself anytime soon. The median home price on the island last year was $1.1 million, forcing many young families to look elsewhere.

Mercer Island administrators say they don't plan any additional marketing efforts, but Plano said the School Board is always looking at ways to make the public schools an attractive option for island families.

Even in the state's highest-achieving district, about 13 percent of parents still elect to send their students to private schools.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com