Chief Sealth High School

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Chief Sealth High School
'"Empowering learners to be of value to themselves and to others, today and tomorrow"'

School type	High School
Established	1957
Principal	John Boyd
Faculty	Approx. 85
Students	Approx. 900
Mascot	Seahawk
Location	2600 SW Thistle St, Seattle WA 98126
Information	206-252-8550
Website	www.seattleschools.org/schools/chiefsealth/

Chief Sealth High School is a public high school in the Seattle Public Schools district of Seattle, Washington. Opened in 1957 in southern West Seattle, Chief Sealth has roughly one thousand students, who comprise one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse student bodies in Washington State. It offers many programs, including Academy of Finance, Academy of Travel and Tourism, Graphic Arts, Performing Arts, Proyecto Saber, and Sports Marketing.

Its current principal, John Boyd, is himself a former Sealth Seahawk, graduating in 1982. Nicknamed "Vanilla Thunder", Boyd was the leading scorer (16.1 points per game) in Sealth's best-performing basketball team (24 and 2, 4th in Washington State). They had All-Metro honors for two consecutive years and retired Boyd's jersey number 24.

Begun in 1975 at Chief Sealth High School, Proyecto Saber (Spanish for "Project: To Know") is a "school within a school", providing help in all academic areas to the neighborhood's Latino community. Currently, there are about 250 students enrolled in courses offered by this one-of-a-kind bilingual/bi-cultural program at Chief Sealth High School, Ballard High School and Denny Middle School in the Seattle Public Schools District. With an education-can-make-all-the-difference mantra, Proyecto Saber not only provides homework assistance, but also offers workshops that deal with topics such as racism, leadership, famous Latin Americans, etc. There is also a mariachi band, a youth club and an annual Cinco de Mayo assembly.

Currently in the process of completing the accreditation process to become an International Baccalaureate school, Chief Sealth High School anticipates offering its first International Baccalaureate courses in fall 2007.

Chief Sealth students have produced several documentaries, including The Diaries of High Point, which won an Emmy Award. An environmental studies pilot program incorporating photography, environmental research, and service learning, supported by wildlife photographer Art Wolfe (a Sealth alum), provides opportunities for Sealth students to mentor students at nearby schools. Students in the Sports Marketing program have researched and documented Negro League Baseball player movements in the western United States, focusing on the career of Buck O'Neil. In 2004, Chief Sealth High School hosted the first Negro Leagues Baseball Museum exhibit on the west coast. In 2006, Sealth students rode bicycles from Seattle to Kansas City, Missouri to raise funds for the Museum's Buck O’Neil Education & Research Center.[1]

[edit] Recruiting scandal

In 2006, the school's girl's basketball team was revoked of their 2004 and 2005 state championship titles, and barred from playing in the 2007 tournament after it had been revealed coaches participated in illegal recruiting.[2] Six Sealth Ladyhawks players had been enticed to transfer to the school with promises of starting positions and college scholarships. Coaches had also provided fake leases to show residence within the school district, and in one case, even a car to allow a student to travel to Chief Sealth.[3]