The Eastside gets a “B” in Education, the Economy, and Neighborhoods and Community, but drops to “C’s” for Basic Needs, Environment, Health and Wellness, and Arts and Culture, according to a report by Leadership Eastside.

The organization hosted a discussion Feb. 9 in which more than 200 participants cast their votes on how they view life around here.

Discussions were led by a panel of Norman Rice, president and CEO of the Seattle Foundation; John Marchione, mayor of Redmond; and Stacy Graven, executive director of Meydenbauer Center. Each gave their assessment of areas where the Eastside is doing well and where it needs to improve.

Rice pointed to Hopelink making a difference in people’s lives and Leadership Eastside working throughout the area in civic engagement as “gold in the hills.”

“These organizations reflect resources on the Eastside that are galvanizing a bottom-up, rather than top-down response,” Rice said.

Marchione said the Eastside is doing well compared to other communities, but can do more. Graven noted that the economic impact of tourism is continuing to increase, but cutbacks in state funding have raised the stakes for the Eastside to keep that economic stimulator going.

King County Council members, city council members, business executives, non-profit executive directors, college presidents and others attended the discussion.

“It’s clear the Eastside is not doing as well as we would like,” said James Whitfield, president and executive director of Leadership Eastside. “The reason our community supports your participation in Leadership Eastside is because they’re counting on you to help our region get A’s.”

LE will publish the final 2012 State of the Eastside Report this month.