Is Northwest a school that focuses on challenging academics or on creativity? Yes.
Let us explain. Students immediately see that we incorporate creativity into many parts of our curriculum. Biology students sketch specimens to sharpen observation skills. Improv students push themselves, take risks and learn to work collaboratively. History students deepen memory by studying Picasso’s Guernica. The benefits of learning both intellectual discipline and individual creativity enable our graduates to become future mathematicians, engineers, lawyers, professors, doctors and yes, artists, who are more innovative, more collaborative and who live confident, engaged lives. If this is what it means to be a school that believes in the importance of the arts,
cool.
“It’s so rare to have an opportunity anywhere, but especially in high school, to be invited to think about how things connect. At Northwest, I saw how art influences the Humanities, how Humanities is constituted by things from culture, how those combine and bloom in sciences and how all things intersect.” —Gigi Craig ’02, Ph.D. candidate, English Literature, University of Washington
Welcome from the Head of School We’re delighted you’re interested in our school. The Northwest School is a thriving and exciting place to learn. Step into our historic building and you’ll see it’s full of energy and enthusiasm, emanating from every classroom, lab and studio at all hours of the day. Our teachers are passionate and knowledgeable; they’re the heart of our school and dedicated to helping students discover their intellectual passions and develop independence. Our community is warm and supportive; we care deeply about the virtues of courtesy and common sense and we embrace our many cultures and perspectives from around the world. Come spend time with us and see firsthand why our students are thrilled to be here. We look forward to meeting you!
Mike McGill, Head of School
“I’m an engineer at Electroimpact. I’ve consistently been given opportunities beyond my peers. I believe that this is due in part to my education at Northwest. I believe their philosophy of incorporating the arts into the curriculum helped me be more creative as an engineer and better able to articulate my ideas in my work.” —David Eckstein ’95
Our approach to academics has always been to push students beyond their comfort zones. We challenge them to be intellectually courageous and to generate new ideas. We offer a college preparatory experience grounded in vigorous study. Our challenging curriculum teaches students to discover the connections between historic, scientific and artistic fields of knowledge. Our graduates are welcomed by renowned colleges and universities throughout the United States and overseas. Our liberal arts education combines an integrated Humanities program with open-ended scientific study. Our math curriculum allows students to develop through advanced calculus and inspires students through competitive math experiences. Our wide range of arts classes encourages students to try new modes of expression and creativity. As important as where our graduates go to college is how they engage in the changing world. Our exceptional faculty and program inspire students to grow as thinkers and responsible citizens. Studying current topics of international significance alongside peers from other countries prepares our students to think globally and engage in an interconnected world.
Middle School can be an exciting journey. That’s why we’ve brought together teachers who love the trip.
Our Upper School instills in every student the knowledge, experience and confidence to excel in both college and life.
Our Middle School faculty is particularly adept at understanding, embracing, and celebrating these critical years. Our small classes allow us to give personalized attention, nurturing and challenging students simultaneously. Each student has an advisor to ensure that families and school work together seamlessly. The academically challenging, cross-disciplinary curriculum stresses the process of learning, enabling all students to become selfdirected learners.
We believe that students who have been truly engaged by a community of scholars, artists and international peers will graduate with an insatiable love of learning, a respect for diverse opinions and beliefs, the knowledge to navigate critical and complex ideas, and the eagerness and ability to participate as active members in society.
Our morning meetings help build students’ awareness of belonging to the Middle School community. A sense of membership in the entire school comes from attending weekly Community Meetings and working in cross-graded 6-12 Environment teams that clean the school grounds three times a week. Middle schoolers eat lunch with all grades and faculty, participate in all-school celebrations, and join students from every grade on overnight skiing, biking, hiking, and kayaking trips. Our students transition to 9th grade with confidence in their own voices, a sense of obligation to and concern for the world, and with the academic skills they will need to thrive in high school.
The Upper School teachers at Northwest are experts at developing every student’s intellectual and personal independence. Our 9th through 12th grade students pursue a challenging and inter-disciplinary program of studies, consisting of an integrated humanities program, handson laboratory science, applied mathematics, language study, visual and performing arts experiences, and athletic competition. By the time students are seniors they lead cross-graded Environment teams that care for the school grounds. They also mentor younger students through the Peer Mentoring program and organize all-school events. The development of personal responsibility and leadership skills is central to the Upper School experience.
Our Humanities program is more than an area of study: it’s the fiber that connects our curriculum.
“The Humanities program is the staple of the Northwest School. The critical look at history paired with in-depth analysis of the literature of the time helps develop the students into critical, mature adults.” —NWS Graduating Senior ‘13
HUMANITIES
Through Humanities courses, students develop into thoughtful, engaged, and informed citizens. Every student is required to volunteer for an outside political campaign, and students participate in classes that evoke different perspectives and investigate issues of human rights.
We are a school that fosters a love of and respect for ideas, and a place that teaches its students to think and synthesize. This is most evident in our unique, integrated Humanities program. Using original source materials and works of classical and contemporary literature, this stimulating series of courses connects history, literature, philosophy, political science, and art history.
Law and Society is a prime example of how we teach Humanities. The culmination of this course is a mock trial conducted in the chambers of a criminal court in downtown Seattle. Students prepare and perform arguments before a judge. They also research and write papers, typically reflecting current events. Recently, these have covered detainee rights, environmental law, immigration, Chinese labor practices, Korean free trade, and the legality of the Iraq War. By the end of the course, students have a broad sense of how law can be used to protect rights and advance social justice.
Glancing at the titles of the reading covered in 10th Grade Humanities provides an idea of the intellectual arc of one year at Northwest. Events and ideas from the 18th and 19th centuries are brought to life and given relevance in lectures, small-group discussions and regular writing tutorials with three to four students.
Here at Northwest, science is a verb.
A National Reputation NWS’s 10th grade Biology class has been nationally commended as a best-practice example of integrated learning. In a newly released book, The Mind at Hand: What Drawing Reveals, University of Vermont Chemistry Professor Michael Strauss
praises NWS for deepening memory and understanding through students’ drawing of anatomy. Says Professor Strauss: “This is valuable pedagogy to use in the classroom. It’s clear to me the students at Northwest are learning sophisticated things.”
SCIENCE
Whether 8th graders are building bridges, 9th graders shooting catapults, or 12th graders examining primate bones and launching rockets in the school’s West Court, the sciences at Northwest are dynamic, immediate, and sparked with discovery. Our goal is to teach kids to be scientists. We use open-ended lab work to teach students to devise their own ways of exploring and testing concepts. The result of this process is that students are profoundly capable of asking salient questions. This is the foundation of our science program. Evolution is a key part of science learning at Northwest. Tenth grade biology and Humanities students join together and study the work of venerable scientists such as Linnaeus, Darwin and Wallace, and also 17th Century nature artist Maria Merian. As part of the course, students draw parts of a mammalian skull. Questions that arise from students during these drawing labs are often the very questions asked by comparative anatomists of Darwin’s day.
“Science here at Northwest is challenging, exciting and fun. We jump in and experiment with forces and reactions, and there’s a messiness and discovery aspect where you don’t always know what’s going to happen. It’s real science.” —Cecilia Tung, Science Department Chair
“All of my math classes at Northwest were great, but especially in eighth grade. That was when I really started to enjoy learning about math.” —Graduating Senior ‘13
Math is more than a rigid sequence of classes at Northwest. It’s a language. We provide a comprehensive math program with a highly traditional curriculum and strong foundational elements. Students are encouraged to engage in a broad spectrum of mathematics classes, from Algebra to Advanced Calculus and Statistics.
MATH
We view our students as math language learners and believe they are acquiring a vocabulary as well as particular skills and habits of mind. Students in our classrooms develop a comfort with communicating mathematical thinking. They present their solutions to their classmates, and are expected to explore, tinker, and problem solve in a community of learners. “Brain research has confirmed that success is ultimately determined by how much we exercise our brain, and this is especially important for math students to know. Intelligence can be developed through effort. Our determination, persistence, and hard work are the qualities that predict success.” —David Matlock, Math Department Co-Chair
“Instead of taking a diverse group of students to where the school wants them to go, The Northwest School asks, ‘Who can this student be?’ and helps each one get there.” —Matthew Sutton, NWS Parent
The teaching of art at Northwest is really the teaching of creativity.
ARTS
They will shape more than clay
Nurturing the creative instinct is an essential part of what we do. We have always believed that incorporating art into every area of study deepens both learning and joy. This is the way students retain their creative essence as they venture into adult lives. The reason our students become better engineers, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and citizens, is because they are also dancers, artists, musicians and actors. Science supports this approach. James Catterall, professor at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, found that after following students for more than a decade there was persistent link between arts learning and overall academic success and quality of life in adulthood.
Northwest is known for hiring practicing artists as teachers. This has always been a founding principle of the school. These artists model the benefits of discipline and hard work. Our faculty exhibit in galleries and major art shows, publish poetry and photography books, direct professional theater productions and perform music at Tula’s and Benaroya Hall.
“At Northwest our creativity and individual thinking was highly cultivated and that’s critical to being a good citizen—the ability to think creatively and analyze what’s happening. The arts courses gave me a sense of empowerment around what I was learning. I gained imaginative processes for problem solving.” —Lynda Turet ’01, M.A., Human Geography, University of Washington
Northwest is the only international boarding school in the city of Seattle. We bring the world into every class.
GLOBAL LEARNING
In addition to global learning in the classroom, our students have multiple opportunities to travel abroad each year. Our class trips immerse students in the language and culture of varied countries, including China, Taiwan, France, El Salvador and Spain. We also offer an exchange program and send small groups of students in the 10th grade to study at one of our Global Partner Schools in France, Spain, China, or Taiwan. Every year, 16 percent of our students come from other countries, bringing a wonderful energy and valued perspective. They live here on campus, integrate into our classrooms, converse in multiple languages, and enrich our community with insight and global awareness. We offer all of our students the advantage of not simply reading about other cultures but of learning alongside people from other cultures.
“To have global perspective you need to accept that people have attitudes different from your own and be able to deal with that, and at the same time you must have a strong sense of self. Both of these ways of thinking I began to develop at The Northwest School.” —Aaron Sterr ’92, Production Services Manager, Trading Screen
Thanks to NWS students, 2012 was a memorable summer for the people of Tute Kunche, Ethiopia. A new well, built by Water 1st International, brought water flowing out of the taps for the first time in the town’s history. The well was funded in part by money raised by NWS students. In February, 2013, a plaque with The Northwest School’s name was mounted at the site of the Tute Kunche well.
These partnerships, our dynamic curriculum, and our international student population enrich The Northwest School’s vibrant and culturally diverse community, enabling our college preparatory education to prepare each student not only for college but also for a productive and rewarding future in our interconnected world.
The Northwest School was founded by three teachers who believed that a great school must be built around great teachers.
FACULTY
Faculty members at The Northwest School are selected not only for their teaching expertise but for their intellectual and creative passions. Our teachers bring the outside world into the classroom because they pursue interests they love. Our faculty members are closely connected to the cultures from which they come, and with the many other cultures they’ve experienced as international travelers, environmental activists, outdoor enthusiasts and professional artists. They produce art exhibitions, publish books, pursue scholarly research through educational grants, and lead national initiatives, such as the defense of teaching evolutionary science in schools.
We love our teachers. And we’re not alone.
“Northwest teachers aren’t hiding behind text books. What you learn is straight from their minds.” —Lauren L., Student
In 2010, Humanities teacher Jeff Blair was awarded the Distinguished Fulbright Award in Teaching to do educational research in South Africa
Our teachers are not only respected by us; they are highly regarded by the educational community. Each year the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching program selects teachers from across the country to research, teach, and observe classrooms throughout the world. In the past three years, three Northwest teachers have been awarded this esteemed honor. “The teachers at Northwest have provided our son with rich experiences outside of his comfortable routine. They’ve helped him develop a clear sense of his own potential, an appreciation for the diverse talents of his peers, and insight into other ways of thinking and striving.” —Tom Lombardo, Parent and NWS Board Member
Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching: Jeff Blair, Humanities
Jen Kulik, Theatre Arts Thomas Elliott, Math
Lessons in teamwork, discipline and sportsmanship are at the heart of sports at Northwest. But it’s also okay to win. To prove it, we have 11 State Championships and dozens of alumni playing on college teams. We provide athletic opportunities for every student. Our students participate on varsity and junior varsity teams in basketball, cross country, soccer, track and field, volleyball, and Ultimate Frisbee.
SPORTS
While we enjoy a well-earned reputation for fair play, we are equally proud of our significant achievements in interscholastic competition. Both our Girls and Boys teams have dominated at the state level. Our athletes have won more than 40 tournament, league, state, and national championships. The school also supports highly competitive athletes on extramural city and regional teams in such sports as golf, crew and kayaking.
“What sets Northwest apart is our belief that sports offer one of the purest ways to express gracious appreciation of others. Big egos miss the point of sports entirely. You don’t do it alone. You need your teammates. Appreciating others is as integral to sports as it is to life.” —Britt Atack, NWS Athletic Director
”I loved my Environment team and felt like it was a great chance for me to mentor and get to know younger kids. I especially enjoyed mentoring and getting to know the 6th graders on my team.” —NWS Graduating Senior, ‘13
“What I really love about The Northwest School is its philosophical heart. The school’s academic standards and opportunities are extremely high, but its core is fundamentally about the growth of students into strong and integrated adulthood. I can’t imagine a better place for my sons to have spent this important time in their lives.” —Kathy Offner, NWS Parent
Creating a community has always been important at Northwest. It starts with caring for the school.
COMMUNITY
We don’t just talk about community at Northwest, we create it. Our Environment Program is one of the natural ways we come together. Three times a week, blended teams of all grades, led by seniors, help clean the school and maintain the grounds. This teaches responsibility, pride, collaboration and leadership skills. Our weekly Community Meetings gather the entire school community to share announcements, celebrations, performances, and talks by visiting scholars, artists, and activists. We also dine together. Our Middle and Upper School students and faculty sit together at lunch every day, enjoying delicious meals made with local and organic ingredients. Creating these opportunities for us to be together is very intentional. We believe they have a dramatic impact on building good citizenship, teaching social responsibility through our actions, and instilling personal responsibility. From the outset we have not left to chance the teaching of our principles of courtesy and common sense.
Mesa Schumacher’s accomplishments demonstrate the discipline required in both science and art.
Eric Manley credits Northwest with fostering his ability to bring creativity to his scientific pursuits.
After Northwest School
“I loved Northwest. It starts with the teachers. They create an expectation that students should do their best and every student contributes. I really learned how to collaborate at Northwest. The community gives you the space to find out who you are.” —Mesa Schumacher ‘04, M.A. candidate, Medical and Biological Illustration, Johns Hopkins University
After graduation from Northwest, Mesa attended Stanford University, graduating with a degree in Physical Anthropology. She felt that her art was destined to be a hobby and that a career in the sciences was probably more promising. However, while participating on an archeological dig she discovered that archeological illustration could combine both her passions. After more specialized education, she secured an internship at National Geographic. Now renowned as a scientific illustrator, she has completed a series of bird illustrations that appear in the July, 2013 issue of National Geographic, and in the online edition. This year, Mesa will join the prestigious medical illustration graduate program at Johns Hopkins University.
Eric is now entering his second year at Northwestern University. He’s pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry, researching the nanoscale morphologies of novel solar energy materials. Although Northwest prepared him to pursue many directions in college, Jeff Blair’s Global Issues class and Renee Fredrickson’s Advanced Chemistry class drew Eric to pursue a degree in either Political Science or Chemistry. Chemistry won. Eric attended Carleton College and graduated with a degree in Chemistry. After graduation, he decided to take a year off before entering graduate school. His trip to El Salvador while at NWS initiated his strong relationship with Latin America. After working the fall at the University of Washington doing research in Solar Water Oxidation, he spent three months trekking in South America. “As a graduate chemist on my way to a Ph.D., I cannot overstate the importance of having a creative mind in the sciences. I do not think I could have gotten to where I am today without the creative instincts that were fostered at The Northwest School. The integration between the Humanities, arts and sciences, coupled with the encouragement of the teachers, provided me with a strong creative foundation that I will always be grateful for.” —Eric Manley ’07, Ph.D. candidate, Chemistry, Northwestern University
Fast Facts about The Northwest School
250,000 136 1600 14 136 12,000 37
The dollar amount invested on faculty professional development last year
The number of colleges to which the Class of 2013 received offers of admission The number of hours students spent last year working as volunteers on political campaigns
The number of performing arts theatres within walking distance of campus
6
The number of vacuum cleaners used by students to clean our building
The number of State Champion Ultimate Frisbee teams from NWS
The number of colleges the Class of 2013 will be attending The percentage of the student body receiving some financial aid
The number of Global Partnership schools (Addis Ababa, Angers, El Salvador, Seville, Shanghai, Taipei)
The number of migrant farm worker cabins students renovated between 2001 and 2013 The number of cookies baked by NWS chefs in 2013
13 51 16 UW
75 1.6M
The largest employer of Northwest School Parents
The number of international students attending Northwest School last year The amount of financial aid distributed to families last year