Northwest School
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| Established | 1980 |
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| Type | Middle and High School |
| Students | 460 |
| Location | Seattle, Washington, USA |
| Website | http://www.northwestschool.org/ |
| Summit School | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | First Hill, Seattle, Washington |
| Built/Founded: | 1905 |
| Architect: | James Stephen |
| Added to NRHP: | October 4, 1979 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 79002540 |
The Northwest School (originally The Northwest School of the Arts, Humanities and Environment) is a private middle and high school located on Seattle, Washington's First Hill. Founded in 1980, it is located in the 1905 Summit School building, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The building is also an official City of Seattle landmark.[1]
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[edit] History
The school was built in 1904-1905
In 1983, a dispute between trustees and faculty resulted in the creation of the break-off Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences. To this day, SAAS remains Northwest's principal athletic and administrative rival because of their common roots. Despite the turmoil, The Northwest School has always been headed by one of its three founding teachers, Ellen Taussig, Paul Raymond, or Mark Terry (except for a brief period in 1991-1992 when outsider Art Scott was briefly head of school. After his dismissal, Ellen Taussig took over 'temporarily' as head; she has held the office ever since). However, due to Paul Raymond's recent death, only Ellen Taussig and Mark Terry are still active in the school, in either an administrative or teaching capacity.
A second building adjacent to the Summit School building was completed in 2006; the new addition houses an expanded photography studio, library, and computer lab. The original building has also undergone extensive interior renovation, including paint and renovation.
[edit] Academics
Northwest has approximately 460 students, 18% of whom are from outside the United States. There is a dormitory for students in the international program two blocks west of the main Summit building. Tuition in 2007-2008 was $23,675.[2]
Literature, art history and history are taught in a combined program called Humanities, in a lecture and discussion format. All high school students take a three-year Humanities core program, one year each of Physical Science, Biology, and Chemistry, and a minimum of three years each of mathematics and a foreign language. Students take two fine art classes each year, and must satisfy distributional requirements (at least one class each of theater, visual art, music, and dance). Fine Arts classes are taught by practicing professionals in the field.
Seniors are required to take one advanced seminar in writing, philosophy or literature, and one in the social studies -- such as an introductory law seminar, post-colonial studies, Latin American studies, and women's studies. Students are expected to complete two senior projects in their social studies seminar: volunteer activity with a political campaign during the first two months of the year, and a written thesis during the second half of the year. Seniors are also expected to continue a full academic course load, with 2-3 courses from the mathematics, science, or language departments and at least one arts course.
Students are responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the school through the Environment program, whereby 15 to 20 minutes of time are set aside three days per week for students to clean and maintain the school. Larger-scale maintenance projects are handled by the school's single janitor and a small maintenance staff.
Notable is the school's Martin Luther King Day, organized by students. The day is spent celebrating the struggle for equal rights, human rights and other issues of social justice. This at times can be very difficult as a result of the school's lack of a substantial African American population. Seasonal festivals include Artsfest, a yearly arts exposition, and Winterfest, the school's celebration of the sciences. A weekly community meeting brings the school together for discussions and performances.
The school's policy on behavior is "courtesy and common sense" and "do work". Rules that do not result from this policy are usually in some way state-mandated. For example, students are no longer allowed barefoot in the hallways because there is a Washington health law against it. When a student commits a severe disciplinary infraction, he or she is said to have "initiated the process of withdrawal from the community"; the administration is, by this logic, only making the withdrawal formal, and avoiding the term 'expelled.' In many circumstances, a 'withdrawal' is the result of poor academic performance. Some, however, feel that the administrators refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions by blaming them on students. A community of expat NWS students exists in Seattle.
Entrance to Northwest is based on the Independent School Entrance Examination, reference letters, and a parental application. Students are not required to write any essays in order to gain admission. Aid is only offered to local students and admission is not "need-blind". There are no long term goals to institute a "need-blind" admissions policy.
[edit] Sports
Sports played at Northwest include soccer, basketball, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee. In the past few years, Northwest School has become very competitive in the world of ultimate frisbee. Middle school and high school participation combined is over 30% of the student population. In 2005, 2006 and 2007 the varsity boys team won the Western national championships and Northwest students made up half of the team that captured the club national championship in the summers of 2005 and 2007. The varsity girls team won the Western national championships in 2008.
Students are also welcome to create their own sports teams. Several NWS students started a pioneering interscholastic curling program in 2001. However, lack of interest from other schools forced the Angry Alpacas to compete in a less competitive social setting. Similarly, a croquet and indoor golf club was pioneered as an alternative by some of the class of 2009 in Fall 2007, but it also faded with time.
However, due to the small nature of the school, several students over the years have been forced to take their sports elsewhere. For example, the lack of a swimming program has forced students to compete with such schools as Nathan Hale High School, Garfield High School, and Ballard High School. While this is certainly an irritant, the staff of the school works well with the issue and allows this crossover of athletics to continue. In the future, the school will hopefully be able to field sports teams which they currently lack.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for S, Individual Landmarks, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle. Accessed 28 December 2007.
- ^ Tuition and Fees, The Northwest School. Accessed 11 March 2008.
[edit] External links
