Our school district is looking at changing the school boundaries and sending the kids from the previous Bellevue High School attendance area to another school, Sammamish High School.

Sammamish is a school that draws from a much less affluent part of the city than that of Bellevue High. It is a fabulous school for any child to get an education. A large percentage of the students there come from families who are new to this country, are learning English as a second or third language and many will likely be the first in their family to attend college.

I taught at a school that fed in to Sammamish for 10 years and have attended graduation at Sammamish for the last 12 years. My daughter chose to go there despite getting in to the International School — another public school in the Bellevue School District that runs admittance by lottery — and living in the Bellevue attendance area. Bellevue has six excellent high schools and it’s hard to go wrong with any of them.

Now for the dilemma.

Many people are worried that if their kids are required to go to Sammamish, that their “property values will go down.” They are upset, attending public meetings and trying to preserve their perceived “right” to send their kids to Bellevue High School.

My siblings and I all went to Sammamish High School. All four of us have gone on to graduate from college and lead productive lives where we contribute to society in different ways.

I have taught at three different elementary schools in this city over the past 23 years, and have seen most of my previous students go on to attend all six of the high schools in Bellevue and do very well. The most important common denominator for kids to do well in school is to have parents and communities who care about them. Kids know when we’re invested in them, and work hard to achieve at high levels when they feel that.

All schools can help raise children by giving them opportunities and options in how they want to grow and learn.

At Sammamish, kids have opportunities to see the wider world. They’ll get the chance to know kids from every corner of the globe, be exposed to many cultures, languages and every walk of life. They will know kids whose parents work as CEOS and as custodians.

They will learn that the income and position of their parents is not what defines them or their futures. They will learn to work hard, and see others do the same in order to experience and taste success in all of its definitions. For some, that will mean getting in to Ivy League colleges and for some it will mean holding down part-time jobs while attending high school in order to help feed their families and pay rent.

They will be embraced by teachers who believe in and encourage them. They will be given opportunities to learn about the STEAM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) because Sammamish High School is a magnet and has been given large grants and partnerships with companies such as Microsoft and the Gates Foundation.

I have seen kids go from exclusive private schools to Sammamish who have flourished there. I have seen children of refugees from around the world grow up and attend Sammamish, and graduate from Ivy League schools and local universities. I have seen kids pursue futures in every field imaginable.

I have seen kids stand out of respect and applaud their principals and teachers for 12 years at graduation and have been in awe watching high school students show respect and appreciation for those who have prepared them for their futures.

I have seen kids organize fundraisers for different causes. They sent their custodian home to Vietnam to see his mother who was ill after discovering that he had not been able to afford to return for many years.

Hundreds of students at that school have raised funds to combat the childhood disease of a staff member’s son.

It’s true that Sammamish can’t brag about having the highest test scores or about having the highest percentage of its student body attend college. The football team does its best, but rarely wins a game.

Sammamish is a very special place though. It is a reflection of the real world and is a school our community should be very proud of and more than willing to support.

Bellevue has six great high schools. All schools can be improved upon, and that is why they are called public schools. It is our responsibility to support them and make them better. We can make all schools better not only for our own children, but for all children. Education is the foundation of our future.

Bellevue resident Kelye Kneeland is a parent and teacher.