Last week—and just in time for the start of the football season—the benevolent geniuses at Walk Score published walkability rankings for every NFL stadium in the US.  If you’re keeping score, Seattle’s Qwest Field, the Northwest’s only NFL stadium, ranked fifth in walkability among the NFL.  But if Canadian Football League stadiums had been included, the BC Lions permanent home would have tied for 2nd, behind only St. Louis.)

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But last week also marked the start of school for many Northwestern kids.  And that inspired us to try handing out Walk Score grades for Portland and Seattle schools.

The test results?  Well, many schools in both cities did quite well—which is little surprise, since both cities landed on Walk Score’s list of the top 10 most walkable cities in the nation.  Yeah, yeah, but which city had the higher walkability GPA?  Sorry, Portland:  Seattle schools just edged out Portland’s for the valedictory spot, with an average Walk Score of 71 to Portland’s 69.

Check below the jump to find our how your kids’ school did:

  • Our work is made possible by the generosity of people like you!

    Thanks to Linda Moulder & Jerry White for supporting a sustainable Northwest.

  • Just to be perfectly clear:  these rankings aren’t an ideal measure of walkability for school kids. Walk Score measures the proximity and diversity of businesses, parks, and other amenities around the schools.  Anecdotally, a high Walk Score often signals the presence of good pedestrian amenities like sidewalks and well-marked crosswalks.  Nonetheless, Walk Score isn’t a reliable measure for the safety of school-age kids.  This is more for fun than for anything else. As my high-school Latin teacher might have said, if I’d had one: caveat ambulator.

     

    Seattle Schools Score
    Lowell Elementary School 98
    Lafayette Elementary School 95
    The Center School 94
    Greenwood Elementary School 92
    Hamilton International Middle School 92
    Hawthorne Elementary School 89
    West Seattle High School 89
    Adams Elementary School 88
    Coe Elementary School 86
    Garfield High School 86
    Gatzert Elementary School 86
    McClure Middle School 86
    Meany Middle School 85
    Orca (at Whitworth) 85
    Whitworth Elementary School 85
    Daniel Bagley Elementary School 83
    North Beach Elementary School 83
    Nova High School 83
    Salmon Bay School 83
    Washington Middle School 83
    Catharine Blaine K-8 82
    John Stanford International Elementary School 82
    Olympic View Elementary School 82
    B. F. Day Elementary School 80
    Roosevelt High School 80
    Ballard High School 78
    Green Lake Elementary School 78
    Hay Elementary School 78
    Madison Middle School 78
    Madrona K-8 78
    Roxhill Elementary School 78
    Denny Middle School 77
    McGilvra Elementary School 77
    Whittier Elementary School 77
    South Shore Middle School 75
    AS #1 (Pinehurst) K-8 75
    Franklin High School 75
    Kimball Elementary School 75
    Leschi Elementary School 75
    Rainier Beach High School 75
    TOPS K-8 Alternative School 75
    John Muir Elementary School 72
    West Woodland Elementary School 72
    Whitman Middle School 72
    Broadview-Thomson Elementary School 71
    Bryant Elementary School 71
    Eckstein Middle School 71
    Laurelhurst Elementary School 69
    Beacon Hill International Elementary School 68
    Concord Elementary School 68
    Loyal Heights Elementary School 68
    Maple Elementary School 68
    Northgate Elementary School 68
    Schmitz Park Elementary School 68
    Stevens Elementary School 68
    Cleveland High School 66
    Cooper Elementary School 66
    Dunlap Elementary School 66
    Gatewood Elementary School 66
    Lawton Elementary School 66
    Alki Elementary School 65
    Ingraham High School 65
    Sacajawea Elementary School 65
    Aki Kurose Middle School 63
    Montlake Elementary School 63
    Nathan Hale High School 63
    Thornton Creek at Decatur 63
    Thurgood Marshall Elementary 63
    Wedgwood Elementary School 63
    Brighton Elementary School 60
    Olympic Hills Elementary School 60
    Summit K-12 60
    Pathfinder K-8 58
    Emerson Elementary School 55
    West Seattle Elementary School 55
    Dearborn Park Elementary School 54
    Sealth High School 54
    Mercer Middle School 51
    Sanislo Elementary School 51
    View Ridge Elementary School 51
    African American Academy K-8 49
    Van Asselt Elementary School 49
    Wing Luke Elementary School 49
    Graham Hill Elementary School 46
    John Rogers Elementary School 46
    Highland Park Elementary School 43
    Arbor Heights Elementary School 38
    Rainier View Elementary School 18
    Portland Schools Score
    Abernethy Elementary 97
    Hosford Middle School 97
    Sunnyside K-8 97
    James John Elementary 92
    Vestal K-8 92
    Richmond Elementary 89
    Cleveland High School 88
    Grant High School 88
    Benson High School 85
    Laurelhurst K-8 85
    Winterhaven K-8 83
    Woodstock Elementary 83
    Boise-Eliot PK-8 82
    Humboldt PK-8 82
    King PK-8 82
    Beaumont Middle School 80
    Chapman Elementary 80
    Creston K-8 80
    Llewellyn Elementary 80
    Rieke Elementary 80
    Glencoe Elementary 78
    Markham Elementary 78
    Mt Tabor Middle School 78
    Roosevelt High School 78
    Sellwood Middle School 78
    Wilson High School 78
    Lewis Elementary 77
    Marshall High School 77
    Cesar Chavez K-8 75
    Madison High School 75
    Vernon PK-8 75
    Irvington K-8 74
    Atkinson Elementary 72
    Beach K-8 72
    Franklin High School 72
    Harrison Park K-8 71
    Rosa Parks Elementary 71
    Sabin PK-8 71
    Scott K-8 71
    Arleta K-8 68
    George Middle School 68
    Gray Middle School 68
    Grout Elementary 68
    Lent K-8 68
    Lincoln High School 68
    Roseway Heights K-8 66
    Chief Joseph Elementary 65
    Faubion PK-8 63
    Marysville K-8 62
    Whitman Elementary 62
    Bridger K-8 60
    Capitol Hill Elementary 60
    Woodmere Elementary 60
    Astor K-8 58
    Peninsula K-8 58
    Woodlawn K-8 58
    East Sylvan Middle School 57
    Lane Middle School 57
    Sitton Elementary 57
    West Sylvan 6-8 57
    Alameda Elementary 55
    Jackson Middle School 55
    Duniway Elementary 54
    Ainsworth Elementary 51
    Jefferson 6-11 51
    Lee K-8 51
    Rigler K-8 51
    Forest Park Elementary 48
    Bridlemile Elementary 43
    Kelly Elementary 43
    Hayhurst Elementary 40
    Stephenson Elementary 37
    Maplewood K-5 32
    Skyline K-8 14

     

    We used addresses from the Seattle Times school finder and the Portland Public Schools website.  Schools open, close, and move around sometimes, so there might be a few inaccuracies in the list.  Sorry, teach!

    School books picture courtesy of MorgueFile