Mercer Island is a small, affluent island in Lake Washington and its high-achieving school district consistently receives the top scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) tests.

Education generates significant interest in the district, with the PTSA and the Mercer Island Schools Foundation each raising hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for school-enrichment programs. The non-profit Fine Arts Advisory Council, which showcases art and music at each grade level in an annual exhibition, supports the arts as core curriculum in each school.

An open-door policy allows all students to take honors and AP classes.

Superintendent: Gary Plano was appointed in 2008.

Alternative program: Crest Learning Center.

The numbers: 1% African American, 18.5% Asian American, 1.9% Hispanic, .4% Native American, 78.2% White, 1.9% low-income, 9.6% special-education, 1.6% ESL.

Funding: A four-year, $9.9 million levy for new classroom technology equipment and teacher training was approved in 2008. A four-year, $37 million operations levy and a one-year, $400,000 school transportation levy passed in 2006.