Northwest School, Seattle

Coordinates: 47°36′48″N 122°19′33″W / 47.6134°N 122.3259°W / 47.6134; -122.3259
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The Northwest School
Address
Map
1415 Summit Ave

Seattle
,
Washington

United States
Information
MottoCourtesy and Common Sense
Established1980
PrincipalRay Wilson
Grades6-12
Enrollment506
Color(s)Maroon and White
AthleticsBasketball, Cross-Country, Soccer, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, Track and Field
MascotThe Haüs
Nickname"Northwest"
AffiliationsNAIS, PNAIS
Websitewww.northwestschool.org
Summit School
Northwest School in the old Summit building, 2007
Northwest School, Seattle is located in Washington (state)
Northwest School, Seattle
Location in Washington
Northwest School, Seattle is located in the United States
Northwest School, Seattle
Location in United States
LocationFirst Hill, Seattle, Washington
Coordinates47°36′48″N 122°19′33″W / 47.6134°N 122.3259°W / 47.6134; -122.3259
Built1905
ArchitectJames Stephen
NRHP reference No.79002540[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 4, 1979
Designated SEATLMarch 19, 1990[2]

The Northwest School (originally The Northwest School of the Arts, Humanities and Environment) is a private/independent day and boarding school located on Seattle, Washington's First Hill. The school was founded in 1980 and is primarily located in the 1905 Summit School building, an official City of Seattle landmark[3] that was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The school's student body includes approximately 500 day and boarding students, in grades 6-12, some 16% of whom are from outside the United States. The school has attracted international students for decades,[4] and international opportunities for domestic students range from Central America to Ethiopia.[5]

As of 2020, school review website Niche ranks The Northwest School as the third-best boarding high school, eleventh best private high school, and the twelfth best college prep private high school in Washington state.[6]

History[edit]

The Northwest School was founded in 1980 by Ellen Taussig, Paul Raymond, and Mark Terry.[7]

Alongside the historic Summit School building and the school's dormitory for boarding students, modern additions to the Northwest campus were completed in 2006 (expanded photography studio, library, and computer lab) and 2014 (gymnasium, fitness mezzanine, dining room, kitchen, black-box theatre and a rooftop sports field).[8]

Academics[edit]

The school's Humanities program encompasses history, literature and art history 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 complete at least one class each of theater, visual art, music, and dance before graduation. Fine Arts classes are taught by recognized practitioners.

The school's seniors undertake one advanced seminar in writing, philosophy or literature, and another in the social studies—such as an introductory law seminar, post-colonial studies, Latin American studies, Asian studies, and women's studies. The social studies seminar requires completion of two senior projects: volunteer activity with a political campaign during the fall and a written thesis during the second half of the year. Seniors simultaneously continue with a full academic course load that includes 2-3 courses from the mathematics, science, or language departments and at least one arts course.

Athletics[edit]

Sports played at Northwest include Soccer, Cross country running,[9] Track and Field, Basketball, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, and Fitness Team. The school's administration also works to facilitate student participation in city, regional and other intramural sports, such as golf, swimming, water polo and crew.

The Northwest School is very competitive in Ultimate Frisbee. The upper school's varsity men have won Western National Championships in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011, and Northwest students made up half of the team that captured the Club National Championship in the summers of 2005 and 2007. In fall 2011, the boys' varsity team had a perfect record of 23-0, winning the inaugural Seattle Invite and the Washington State Championship along the way. That year, both the male and female varsity teams won the Western National Championships and the Washington State Championships. Middle school and high school participation combined is over 30% of the student population.

Notably, Maddie Meyers placed first in the WIAA 1A state cross country championships in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, first in the 1600 m and 3200 m at the state track championships in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and first in the 800 m at the state track championships in 2010 and 2011. She also competed in the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships.[10]

Northwest School State Titles

Boys Ultimate Frisbee- 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Girls Ultimate Frisbee- 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014

Girls Cross-Country- 2015, 2016

Notable alumni[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System – (#79002540)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Landmarks A-Z". City of Seattle. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  3. ^ Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for S Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine, Individual Landmarks, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle. Accessed 28 December 2007.
  4. ^ "Foreign students take high school route to university - University World News". www.universityworldnews.com. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  5. ^ Magazine, Tadias. "The International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia: Q & A with Haddis Tadesse at Tadias Magazine". Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  6. ^ "Explore The Northwest School". Niche. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  7. ^ Turnstyle. "The Northwest School". The Northwest School. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  8. ^ "The Fifth Quarter — The Northwest School unveils new athletic facility". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  9. ^ "Northwest School girls cross-country team named best in nation". The Seattle Times. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  10. ^ "Prep standout Maddie Meyers signs with UW". The Seattle Times. 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  11. ^ http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/216782_pearlqww.html "Rockers strengthen ties to school with benefit show"
  12. ^ http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=16982 "Seattle Sister"

External links[edit]