Long Live Real Learning

A vibrant international school community and global Exceptional faculty – our greatest resource – continue to choose The Northwest School. S o c i a l J u s t i c e We graduate students with Liberal arts and sciences animated by intellectual vitality, joy, and humor Educ as a Student-centered learning leads to a sense of wonder, purpose, and agency. ation Our diverse community works relentlessly to advance equity and inclusion so that all can thrive. T e a c h i n g E x c e l l e n c e network historical, scientific, commitment artistic, and global perspective, enabling them to think and act with integrity, believing they have a positive impact on the world. to humanity The transformative power of the arts Our technology integration model empowers all students, fostering creativity and capacity for complex problem- solving. We work at the forefront of social justice, environmental stewardship, and global perspective, passionately engaged at their critical intersection. Our urban campus reflects our educational philosophy - bold, imaginative, and consistent with our environmental values. S m a l l i s B e a u t i f u l A g i l e M i n d s e t The ecological imperative of an urban environmental education

Our Mission

We remain focused on Northwest’s foundational and enduring educational purpose.

Distinctions

The unique qualities and programs that distinguish us from our peers.

Directions

This is the work we need to do to achieve our vision, support our mission, and leverage our strengths.

Principles

These guide our work, with student experience and outcomes at the center of our efforts.

Real learning is seeing the big picture.

S O C I A L S C IE N C E + GOV E RN A N C E Debating World Issues

Eleventh-graders tackle some of the world’s thorniest and most controversial issues in our annual Eleventh Grade Debates. International and domestic students team up to research the pros and cons of issues such as using drones to combat terrorism, phasing out nuclear power, ending agricultural subsidies, and closing Guantanamo Prison. Leading up to the debates, teammates strategize both sides of the issue, practice arguing either side, and a few days before, they finally learn which side they’re on. On debate day, they argue in front of their peers and faculty. Students observing the debate are allowed to ask clarifying questions, provide critical analysis of the debate’s performance, and vote on the issue.

CIVICS + ACTIVISM Learning Through Action

Seniors have the opportunity to start their final year by jumping into a political campaign. From city council to presidential races, students select a candidate or initiative, contact local campaign headquarters, and devote 15 hours to the cause. They must interview the candidate or someone closely connected to the campaign, write a transcript of the interview as well as complete an analysis of campaign literature and an evaluation of the election outcome.

CHEMISTRY + ENVIRONMENT Analyzing Real Data

Advanced Chemistry students gain a better understanding of their impact on the environment by connecting chemistry lessons to their everyday lives. In one unit, they study the physical and chemical properties of plastics and then make their own bioplastics, burying them in soil and digging them up at the end of the year to see how much they have decomposed. In another unit, students conduct carbon footprint analyses of their own homes, gathering date on transportation, electricity, and food consumption. Moreover, they investigate King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan, research the fuels typically used by the county, and calculate the greenhouse emissions released by those fuels. Lastly, they synthesize their research to advise King County which fuels to keep using responsibly, which to eliminate, and what strategies might improve energy efficiency such as running all buses on biodiesel.

“NWS opened the world to me in a way I never could have imagined. I was exposed to complex issues from both sides— it gave me such incredible information and a different life

perspective and the confidence to ‘do,’ to go out in the world. Lynda Turet ’01, Master of Arts in Human Geography, ”

University of Washington

B I O L O G Y + G E NE T I C S + T E C HN O L O G Y Discovering High Tech Tools

In our yearlong course Advanced Topics in Biology, students engage in exciting lab activities and discussions to discover how genetics can be used as a tool to improve human health. Students research a protein, cancer, virus, and an epidemic of their choice. Through labs, they use modeling (of insulin), transformation (of bacteria to explain insulin production), and electrophoresis (to detect genetic mutations). They also learn to use sophisticated scientific tools like BLAST to detect the BrCa1 gene, and ELISA to test for HIV. Critically, students gain the skills to understand, design, and communicate scientific research. As they push into areas at the forefront of scientific discovery, students debate and grapple with the ethical issues surrounding advancing genetic knowledge and technology.

Manipulating DNA

Thanks to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Science Education Partnership, Northwest tenth-graders engage in real-life DNA manipulation. Specifically, they conduct a lab in electrophoresis, one of the methods used in DNA matching for criminal investigations. This lab allows students to actually see the DNA patterns and discern which ones are matching. Visualizing these examples helps students better understand molecular structure.

RESEARCH + IMAGINATION Embodying Role Models

Every Northwest School sixth grader adopts the life of a scientist or mathematician. Choosing a scientist from ancient times to the present, they read a biography, gather research from print and online databases, create an outline, and complete a bibliography. Finally, they collaborate with other classmates to write and perform a scene in which four scientists from diverse disciplines, time periods, and nationalities meet and converse over tea.

MATH + SERVICE Engaging in Business

In our Middle School micro-lending unit, students are given $15 to start a business of their own design. Through that business, they are expected to generate enough money to pay back the loan with a 10% interest rate. Examples of products have included lip gloss, hats shaped like animals, handbags, a fake mustache, and carnival games. On top of teaching math and financial skills, the course is a service project: Students donate their profits to organizations such as Goodwilll Industries and Farestart.

“One of the biggest reasons I went into chemistry as a career was my science class at

Northwest. Chemistry was tied into everyday life and the class was structured with openended questions. We were told to go out and search for answers, go look it up. The labs were challenging and coupled with the freedom

to try things out. ” Lewis Elwood Johnson ’03, Chemist and

Nanotechnologist

Developing Agile Mindsets

Every year, all of our students immerse in two-week multifaceted explorations designed to take learning to deeper levels. Known as Summits, these courses engage students and faculty in crosscurricular studies that are rooted in our school’s values, history, and mission. Students travel to sites off campus and connect with experts around the city, region, and across the country, learning from those who are grappling with the foremost issues of our time, such as civil rights, climate change, food justice, and the ethics of technology, social media, and the internet. Over the course of the two weeks, students experience new avenues for in-depth, creative, and action-oriented learning.