Crest Learning Center is Mercer Island's alternative high school, administered by Mercer Island High. It is located…More next to the school district administration on 86th Avenue.</p> <p>Crest employs a case-management model to offer a personalized learning experience for students unable to succeed in a traditional comprehensive high school environment. Crest's "Essential Learnings" include an emphasis on community, work ethics, study habits and learning how to enjoy their educational experience. The school is one of the oldest alternative schools in the region and boasts a high graduation rate.</p> <p>Associate Principal Mark Roschy is head administrator at Crest.</p>

West Mercer Elementary is located on the west side of the island just south of the First Hill, route:…More {:controller=>"listings", :action=>"show", :id=>"first-hill-park"} --> neighborhood, along the roadway that shares its name. State MSP test results are very high, with 85 percent of students achieving math standards and 94 percent achieving reading standards in 2009. The school's classrooms (2009 staffing) are managed by 32 teachers and 35 specialist teachers and other staff are listed as faculty. West Mercer Elementary hosts the school district's gifted student and preschool programs, and features a before- and after-school day care run by a private contractor, <!-- name: Kids Company, for the 2011-2012 school year.</p> <p>Extracurricular activities include an emphasis on music, culminating in a school music concert in the fall and a school musical in the spring. The West Mercer PTA is also very involved in supporting extracurricular activities, including the sponsorship of weekly after-school art classes at West Mercer. West Mercer Elementary school is led by principal Rich Mellish.</p>

St. Monica is one of Mercer Island's largest religious congregations and it administers the neighboring K-8 school,…More both located just to the south of Mercer Island High School.</p> <p>The church property occupies over eight acres, and is composed of a large sanctuary, a family center, chapel, and rectory. The well-manicured grounds include a grotto which surrounds the Madonna of Mercer Island.</p> <p>The church sponsors several ministries, including the popular Friends of the Needy program, which feeds 100-150 people across the Seattle Metro area every day.</p> <p>The parish church is led Father Patrick Freitag since 2008.</p>

ETC's motto is "There is more than one way to go to school."

ETC is now accredited to provide K through 12…More education and provides full enrollment, dual enrollment (with another school), tutoring in single subjects and test preparation for the SAT and ACT. In addition to the main site, they have a secondary location in Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where teachers provide instruction in Sunday School rooms, which is within walking distrance of Mercer Island High School. Independent studies in subjects like art and PE can be administered by ETC.</p> <p>The original owners were Mercer Island teachers who started the business in the basement of St Monica School. A speech pathologist is part of the staff. The College Board has approved ETC as a nonstandardized test site for the ACT test, where ETC can provide special accommodations that are not normally available at regular test sites such as extended time, a reader or a scribe.</p>

Mercer Island High School is the island's only public high school. The school maintains an excellent reputation…More backed by one of the state's highest on-time graduation rates and was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School in 2006.</p> <p>Based on High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) results in 2009, Mercer Island High had the 11th highest average percent of students passing of 424 high schools in the state — 94 percent of students achieving math and reading standards, 95 percent in reading and 86 percent in science in 2011.</p> <p>Faculty at the school are also well-credentialed (2011 staffing): Of the 69 classroom teachers on faculty, 17 are certified as National Board Teachers and 67 have Master's Degrees.</p> <p>The school is not only known for academic excellence. Students are also offered a wide array of award-winning activities in athletics, theatre, music, marching band, broadcast radio station, route: {:controller=>"listings", :action=>"show", :id=>"hot-jamz-kmih-fm"} --> (Hot Jamz KMIH 88.9 FM), liberal arts and various other extracurricular activites. Facilities regularly open to the public showcasing student talent include a state-of-the-art performing arts theatre, <!-- name: Islander Stadium and the Mercer Island High School Gymnasium.</p> <p>Reflecting the close bond the high school shares with the community, the school's students and sports teams are known simply as the "Islanders."</p>

The Mercer Island School District administers the Island's three elementary schools, middle school, high school and…More alternative high school branch, Crest Learning Center.</p> <p>The school district is one of the Island's most well-regarded institutions and often cited by residents as the reason they live here. Forbes magazine recognized the district in 2009 as one of the ten best nationwide in small U.S. cities. Measured by test performance, Mercer Island is consistently one of the top districts in Washington state. In 2009, district students achieved the second-highest average score on the state's MSP/HSPE proficiency exams.</p> <p>The district is led by Superintendent Gary Plano, appointed in 2008, and by a five-member school board, each subject to four-year terms.</p>

The Mercer Island Clergy Association (MICA), founded in the late 1970s,is a group of religious leaders who meet on…More the third Wednesday of each month (except December) from noon to 1:30pm. Members discuss matters of shared interest to the Island's faith communities, plan interfaith community religious events and provide colleague support.  Typically, members are ordained clergy in their respective faith traditions or are appointed representatives from a faith community active on the Island.</p> <p>Each year the Clergy Association holds an interfaith community Thanksgiving Eve prayer service that rotates between local congregations.  MICA also participates in the annual baccalaureate for Mercer Island's graduating high school Seniors.</p> <p>Those who are not regular members of MICA, but who would like to address the group at a meeting, should contact the acting president of MICA to be added to the agenda. The current president of MICA is Rev. Mark Travis, Congregational Church of Mercer Island.</p>