Joe and Yae Young Rigby are the mom and dad of a young family with four kids who live in Bellevue.
Every Saturday, they wake up early and drive down to Federal Way for two activities. Their oldest son, Alden, participates in the Federal Way Chess Club at 9 a.m. Alden is currently one of the top two players in the state among kindergartners. Joe and Yae also sometimes help run the chess club. After the club, they take their weekly shopping trip to H-Mart.
Once a month, they also attend the Korean branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Federal Way. Yae is a Korean American and Jo is half-Korean. Jo works at Amazon in the South Lake Union area of Seattle.
After chess club one day, I asked them, “You guys come down to Federal Way every weekend. What would it take for you to just live here?”
They both smiled and replied, “Education.”
They have a good thing going with their kids. Alden was chosen via lottery to attend the Chinese-immersion Jing Mei Elementary School in Bellevue. His sister will be able to attend without the lottery. Yae explained, “Jing Mei is academically rigorous and what a wonderful opportunity for our kids to learn Chinese. I’ve seen the ratings for Federal Way schools and they don’t seem very good.”
So what if there was a language immersion program in Federal Way?
“We would want an Asian language,” Yae said.
I told them we have a Korean school on Saturdays in Federal Way. But what if that eventually became an immersion program throughout the week? “That would be interesting to us, but the test scores in Federal Way dont seem good,” they replied.
I asked them if they knew about the Federal Way Public Academy, which has stellar test scores — among the best in the state. They didn’t know about the academy. For those who rate schools by test scores, the Federal Way Public Academy is the answer in Federal Way. The problem with the academy is that it’s by lottery (where only one-third of the applicants are accepted) and it only goes up to 10th grade.
Rating schools by test scores is controversial to some, as it is typically a direct correlation to socio-economic demographics (or income level). With that said, a lot of outcomes are directly correlated to socio-economic demographics, including graduation rates, crime, college entrance rates, etc.
Some parents may argue that test scores are a proxy for income levels, which are a proxy for peer groups. Other options for families interested in a rigorous preparatory education in Federal Way include the Cambridge Program for junior high students at Sacajawea and the International Baccalaureate high school program at Thomas Jefferson High School.
“If there was a great education option for you in Federal Way, what else would keep you from Federal Way,” I continued to ask.
Joe chimed in, “Well, the housing prices are much lower in Federal Way and I’m always in favor of paying less for housing.” Yae broke in, “Sure housing is cheaper, but what about crime? I heard Federal Way has a high crime rate.”
I didn’t know if this was true, so I looked up statistics on city-data.com. Between 2000-2010, Bellevue had 7 murders per 100,000 people. Federal Way had 44 per 100,000 people.
I also asked them if their commute would be an issue.
“Honestly, it’ll probably be a wash. It’s about 45 minutes from Bellevue to Amazon’s South Lake Union offices,” Joe answered. Yae added, “But I think I-90 is a little less congested than I-5 usually.”
What keeps the couple coming to Federal Way when there’s an H-Mart in Bellevue and plenty of chess options on the Eastside? “The H-Mart in Federal Way is much better.
It’s like a little Korea town vibe in there with all the little shops. Federal Way’s H-Mart is not as good as the H-Mart in Lynnwood, but Bellevue doesn’t have the variety of shops. Also, chess is expensive on the Eastside. In Federal Way, it’s free. On Saturdays, we come for the free chess club, then go to H-Mart, do our shopping and eat.”
Don Hyun is a longtime resident of Federal Way. If you have thoughts on how Federal Way can recruit your business, contact him at donhyun@hotmail.com Join the LinkedIn group of technology workers in Federal Way.
