The Northwest School (originally ''The Northwest School of the Arts, Humanities and Environment'') is a private/independent day and boarding school located on
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington's
First Hill
First Hill is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is named for the hill on which it is located, which in turn is so named for being the first hill encountered while traveling east from downtown Seattle toward Lake Washing ...
. The school was founded in 1980 and is primarily located in the 1905 Summit School building, an official City of Seattle
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
that was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
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 United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The school has attracted international students for decades, and international opportunities for domestic students range from Central America to Ethiopia.
As of 2020, school review website
Niche
Niche may refer to:
Science
*Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development
*Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species
*Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
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
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state.
History
The Northwest School was founded in 1980 by Ellen Taussig, Paul Raymond, and Mark Terry.
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 roof-top sports field).
Academics
The school's Humanities program encompasses
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
,
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and
art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
in a lecture and discussion format. All high school students take a three-year Humanities core program, one year each of
Physical Science
Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences".
Definition
Physi ...
,
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
, and
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
, and a minimum of three years each of
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and a foreign language. Students take two fine art classes each year and must complete at least one class each of
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
,
visual art
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...
,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
, and
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
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
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
seminar,
post-colonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
studies,
Latin American studies
Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, history ...
,
Asian studies
Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...
, and
women's studies
Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...
. 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
Sports played at Northwest include
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...
,
Track and Field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
,
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
Ultimate Frisbee
Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...
, 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 1600m and 3200m at the state track championships in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and first in the 800m at the state track championships in 2010 and 2011. She also competed in the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships.
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
*
Liz Mair
Elizabeth Mair (born June 9, 1978) is an American political and communications consultant. She has worked as a journalist and commentator. She was the Online Communications Director at the 2008 Republican National Committee and has been a politi ...
, political strategist
*
Emmett Shear
Emmett Shear (born 1983) is an American internet entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of live video platforms Justin.tv and Twitch. He is the chief executive officer of Twitch and is also a part-time partner at venture capital firm Y ...
, technologist and entrepreneur, cofounder of
Justin.tv
Justin.tv was a website created by Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt in 2007 to allow anyone to broadcast video online. Justin.tv user accounts were called "channels", like those on YouTube, and users were encouraged to br ...
and
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
*
Jason Finn
Jason Finn (born October 27, 1967) is an American musician, best known as the former drummer and singer for The Presidents of the United States of America. He was previously the drummer of Love Battery until 1995 (and also played drums for the ...
, musician,
Presidents of the United States of America
*
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band.
G ...
, musician,
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
*
Chiwoniso Maraire
Chiwoniso Maraire (5 March 1976 – 24 July 2013) was a Zimbabwean singer, songwriter, and exponent of Zimbabwean mbira music. She was the daughter of Zimbabwean mbira master and teacher Dumisani Maraire (and former officer in the Zimbabwe Mini ...
, Zimbabwean singer, songwriter, and exponent of Zimbabwean mbira music
*
Jake Shears
Jake Shears (born October 3, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the male lead singer of pop-rock band Scissor Sisters.
Early life
Shears was born in Mesa, Arizona, the son of an entrepreneur father and a Baptist moth ...
, musician,
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) as dr ...
[http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=16982 "Seattle Sister"]
*
Steve Turner, musician,
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...
*
Aya Sumika
Aya Sumika is a former American actress best known for her semi-recurring role (which later turned into a regular role) as FBI Agent Liz Warner in the television series ''Numb3rs''.
Personal life
She studied ballet at Juilliard.
Sumika and hus ...
, actress,
Numb3rs
''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton ...
*
Smoosh
Chaos Chaos are an American indie synthpop band based in Brooklyn, New York. The band was formed in Seattle under the name Smoosh in 2000 and adopted their current name in 2012. The band consists of two sisters, who founded the band as child ...
(Asy, Chloe, & Maia)
*
Andrew Callaghan
Andrew Thomas Callaghan (born April 23, 1997) is an American journalist. He is the creator and star of the YouTube series ''All Gas No Brakes'' and '' Channel 5''.
Early life
Andrew Thomas Callaghan was born in Philadelphia on April 23, 1997 ...
, journalist,
All Gas No Brakes
All Gas No Brakes is an American YouTube channel originally created and previously hosted by independent journalist Andrew Callaghan, based on the book of the same name by Callaghan. The channel has 1.7 million subscribers and over 71 million v ...
References
External links
* http://www.northwestschool.org/
The Association of Boarding Schools profile
{{authority control
Schools in Seattle
1900s architecture in the United States
High schools in King County, Washington
Private high schools in Washington (state)
National Register of Historic Places in Seattle
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
Private middle schools in Washington (state)
First Hill, Seattle