Garfield High School (Seattle, Washington)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
James A. Garfield High School


School type Public
Established 1920
Principal Theodore Howard II
Faculty 92 (October 2005)
Students 1,595 (October 2005)
Colors Purple & White
Mascot Bulldog
Location Temporarily Housed at Lincoln High School:
4400 Interlake Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103
Garfield Building Location:
400 23rd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
USA
Information (206) 252-2270
Website http://www.garfieldhighschool.org/

James A. Garfield High School is a public high school in the Seattle Public Schools district of Seattle, Washington, USA. It is known for its outstanding academic and arts programs, and for its high degree of cultural diversity.

Located along 23rd Avenue between E. Alder and E. Jefferson Streets in Seattle's urban Central District, Garfield draws students from all over the city. Garfield is also known as the magnet school for the school district's Accelerated Progress Program for especially gifted students. As a result it has many college level classes for students to take ranging from calculus-based physics to Advanced Placement studio art. It competes each year with the Lakeside School, a private school, for the highest number of graduating National Merit scholars in the city.

Contents

[edit] History

James A. Garfield High School was founded in 1920 as East High School at its current location. Its original class consisted of only 282 students, transferred from Broadway High School. In just three years, however, the school's enrollment grew enough that the 12-room building was replaced with a brand-new, Jacobean-style building designed by Floyd Naramore. In 1929, the city commissioned the architect to design an addition for the school as enrollment peaked at 2,300 students. [1]

Garfield High School has long played a key role in its neighborhood, and as what is now known as the Central District has changed, so has the school's population. In its early decades, the school was noted for its Jewish, Japanese and Italian populations. After World War II, the neighborhood evolved into a predominantly African-American one [2] and by 1961, 51 percent of Garfield students were black, compared to only 5.3 percent of the general Seattle school district population. [3] In the late 1960s and 1970s, Garfield was at the center of the school district's attempts to avoid forced busing through various schemes, including turning it into a "magnet" school. This began the focus on music and science that have continued to this today.

[edit] Remodel

The buildings have lasted for over eight decades, but are being partially demolished in a sweeping redesign of the school which began in June 2006. The remodel is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2008 making the class of 2009 the only class to attend both the old and new Garfield. There was a fight to hold off the remodel to preserve the building's history including a city initiative to preserve the auditorium as a historic site, thereby blocking the remodel.[4] The new design has wider hallways to better accommodate the mass of students during passing periods and a new start-of-the-art performing arts center.

[edit] Academics

Garfield is widely known for its academic prowess. Each year there are dozens of valedictorians (4.0 students), most of whom go on to the top universities in the nation.[5] In recent years, however, the school has faced widespread complaints that the school serves white Accelerated Progress Program (APP) students and fails to support black students. [6] During the 2006-2007 school year Garfield offered over 120 different classes across 9 departments, including a huge array of advanced classes. For example, during the same year Garfield offered 13 AP classes: American Government, Calculus, Chemistry, European History, Japanese, Latin, Literature, Spanish, Statistics, Studio Art, US History. [7] The school also boasts an astounding variety of academic clubs, including an ACLU Chapter, Black Achievers, Chess Club, Math Team, MESA, Model United Nations, National Honor Society, Poetry Club, Physics Club and Spanish Club. [8] A growing number of Garfield students also take classes from local Community Colleges through a program called Running Start, online from Stanford's EPGY, online from Johns Hopkins University's CTY program, or on-campus at the University of Washington.[9]

[edit] Athletics

Some information in this article or section is not attributed to sources and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.

[edit] Basketball

Garfield basketball teams have won many regional and state titles, including a stretch of twelve years under coach Al Hairston from 1980 to 1991 during which time the Bulldogs won five Class AAA titles, eight Seattle Metro League championships, qualified for the state tournament nine times, and won the state tournament five times. The boys' basketball team has been state champions a total of eleven times and runner-up five times since 1949.[10] Both the girls' and boys' teams were state champions in 1980 and 1987. More recently, the girls' team was runner-up in 2004 and state champions in 2005 under former Garfield star Joyce Walker, who played on the 1980 championship team. [11] [12] [13]

[edit] Swim Team

Though widely known throughout the Pacific Northwest as a basketball school, Garfield also boasts a tremendous set of swim teams. Though hindered at the turn of the century by the lack of consistent coaching staff, the Garfield "Bullfrogs" as Men's and Women's swim teams are known, have enjoyed much success and an increasing degree of acknowledgment and respect. Accomplishments including several district team championships. The pinnacle of Bullfrog success came in 2001, when the men's team led by Patrick Mead, Sky Hoagland, Braden Pence and Bennie Collins, surprised the state by winning the overall State championship. As tradition at the winter sports assembly, the men's swim team will walk out onto the gym floor, walk around in a circle, then remove their towels and shirts. They run around in just their Speedos. This tradition came to a sudden halt though in 2007 when principal Ted Howard decided to not allow it at the '07 Winter Sports Assembly due to complaints generated by a risque girls' softball performance where a softball member performed a striptease and was carried away by her boyfriend. The swim team simply decided to not go out onto the floor when their team was called.

[edit] Tennis

Although it would seem to be an unlikely fit, Garfield's tennis teams have dominated the KingCo 4A division. The Boys were League Champs in 1997, 2004 and 2006. [14] In 2004 and 2006 the Boys Tennis Team was undefeated (10-0). Aron Shimeles, the Boys team captain in 2004 and 2005, received a $10,000 USTA scholarship to Occidental College. [15]

[edit] Track & Field

Garfield track & field teams have won multiple metro, district & state titles. Garfield dominated AAA track & field in Washington state in the 1980s, winning state titles in boys & girls track in 1987 under Coaches Fred Beckwith & Greg Brashear. In addition, the Garfield 1964 Mile Relay team of Robert Brewer, Bruce Armstrong, Fred Rogers, and Willie Mills still hold the City Record in a time of 3:20.8.

[edit] Volleyball

The Garfield Volleydogs are now among the elite teams in the State of Washington, but it wasn't always so. For years, the team struggled in the highly-competitive KingCo 4A Conference, playing before sparse crowds to scant notice. In 2001, the Volleydogs broke a 33-match losing streak, and began a steady climb up the league standings. In 2003, Garfield qualified for its first-ever spot in the Class 4A State Championships, and in 2005, they returned to state, finishing ninth.

Garfield's turnaround has been led by coach Leslie Hamann, named the conference coach of the year in 2003, and the regional coach of the year in 2002. Since 2002, nineteen Volleydogs have been named to the all-conference team, including seven to the first team. Volleydog Laura Washington was named conference MVP in 2002 and was selected to the All-State team that year; she went on to a stellar career at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, where she was named conference player of the year. Volleydog Lillie Cohn was twice a first team all-conference selection, and went on to play volleyball for Brown University. Volleydog Chelle Ticeson was twice a first team all-conference choice, was named to the All-State team, and earned a volleyball scholarship to Bethune-Cookman College. First team all-conference player Molly Swenson was also an All-State selection; all-conference setter Jamie Nikami moved on to play for Occidental College.

The Volleydogs' athleticism is matched by their scholarship. Year in and year out, Garfield Volleyball is honored as one of the top academic teams in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches' Association. Recent Volleydog alumni attend, or graduated from, the University of Washington, UCLA, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, the University of Chicago, Georgetown, Occidental, Whitman, Haverford, Willamette, the University of Maryland, Christian Brothers University, Carleton College and Pitzer College, among others.

It is often noted that the Volleydogs' large and vocal fan base is a big reason for the team's success. The Volleydogs have one of the few high school volleyball pep squads in the nation, drawn from Garfield's internationally renowned music program. The band has become famous in volleyball circles throughout the state--it keeps crowds pumped up, playing songs, drum cadences or leading cheers during time outs and between games. In recent years, Garfield has led the conference in attendance, sparked, in part, by innovative halftime (between the 2nd and 3rd games) contests, often sponsored by local businesses like Cupcake Royale.

[edit] Other Sports

Garfield has many other sports and club sports including, Golf, Football, Cross Country, Soccer, Gymnastics, Wrestling, Baseball, Softball, and Lacrosse. Many of the students at Garfield also participate in crew at Mt. Baker, Pocock, Lake Union, or Greenlake Rowing Centers, although it is not an official school sport.

[edit] Programs, clubs, and activities

Some information in this article or section is not attributed to sources and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.

[edit] Post

Post is the largest student program in Washington state, with over 350 members. It is a mostly autonomous youth branch of the Mountaineers, and is unique to Garfield. It provides extracurricular environmental and outdoor education as well as outdoor leadership training, which are all largely absent from the school district's curriculum. Membership is open to all high school students in the Seattle area, although convenience and absence of advertising outside of Garfield means that very few members come from other schools. The program maintains a scholarship fund for students who can't afford membership and trip costs. Post also maintains stocks of gear and outdoor equipment that members may borrow in an effort to reduce costs to those who would otherwise be unable to afford Post activities.[16]

The program's many outings include such activities as mountain and road biking, rock climbing, snow camping, hiking, kayaking, wilderness survival training, and a trip called Desert School. Desert School is a week-long trip to the sagebrush steppe of Eastern Washington to teach freshmen about the geological and ecological history of Washington as well as give them an opportunity to bond with other members of the freshman class.[17] All of the trips are led by Post staff, all of whom are students.

The student staff have all undergone a 30 hour wilderness first aid course taught by the Mountaineers called Mountaineering Oriented First Aid (MOFA) in addition to leadership training, which is bolstered by the experience gained from leading trips. They have also completed the introductory Post trips called Wilderness Survival and Advanced Wilderness Survival.

The administrative side of the program is also run entirely by students in an occupational education class.[18] This class provides an opportunity for students to experience what it is like trying to keep a company running as Post is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit with an executive committee comprised of Garfield students. Buying and maintaining gear, keeping financial and membership records, and securing reservations for the many trips Post takes also involves a great deal of work outside of school hours as the class time provides only five hours a week. Due to the extraordinary amount of time and effort students put in to the program, Post received the King County Earth Hero award in 2002 for "exceptional work to help the environment and to promote stewardship of our natural resources".[19][20]

The program was originally known as Adventure Post 84 and was a branch of the Venturing program of the Boy Scouts of America. The program broke ties with the Boy Scouts in protest of the Boy Scouts' stance on homosexuality. At this point the program dropped the Adventure part of their name and became simply Post 84, joining the umbrella of The Mountaineers as a semi-autonomous youth branch. The program was often referred to as simply "Post" by those connected with it. The program officially dropped the 84 from its name in 2006 and is now officially Garfield High School Post.

[edit] Drama

Garfield's Drama Club is the school's second-largest student organization. The Drama Club is run almost entirely by students, who decide what shows to produce each year. Annually it supports six productions, including the mainstage Winter Show. The five remaining shows are collections of student-directed one acts and musical reviews; there are four "Dramatic Paws" productions, and one "Senior Directed One Acts". All of Drama Club's productions are produced, directed, stage managed, and performed by Garfield students.

Many Drama Club members also participate in Garfield's spring musicals, which feature musicians from the award-winning Garfield Orchestra and Jazz Band. Garfield theatre productions have won a number of awards at the 5th Avenue Awards, run by the 5th Avenue Theatre Association in Seattle. In 2003, Garfield's production of West Side Story received awards for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Leading Role Ensemble Member, Outstanding Achievement in Musical Direction and Outstanding Achievement by an Orchestra. It was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Group and Outstanding Achievement in Direction as well. In 2004, Anything Goes was nominated for Outstanding Group Ensemble, Outstanding Orchestra, and Outstanding Female Lead and brought home Special Honors in Educational Impact. In 2005, Garfield's performance of Cabaret received nominations for Outstanding Male in a Leading Role and Outstanding Male in a Supporting Role. It also won the Outstanding Program and Poster Design award and Special Honors in Educational Impact and Student Achievement. [21]

For the 2006/2007 school year the winter show will be The Man Who Came To Dinner.

[edit] The Garfield Messenger

The Messenger is Garfield's bi-weekly student-run newspaper. The typical issue is over 20 pages, and many go over 30. It is published in color and features some of the best high school journalism in the country. The Messenger has been heavily awarded by the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association: placing in Best of Show in the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Conventions in 1997[22], 1998[23], 2000[24], 2001[25], 2002[26], 2003[27], and 2004[28]; honorable mention in the annual design competitions in 2000[29]; placing in the annual best photo competitions in 1998[30] and 2001[31]; placing in the annual best story competitions in 1998[32] and 2003[33]; and winning their most prestigious honor, the Pacemaker Award, in 1997[34] and was a finalist in 2000[35] and 2004[36]. The paper won an honorable mention from the Society of Professional Journalists in their 2001 Excellence in Journalism Competition.[37] It received an IRC and the Environmental Foundation Award Grant in 2005 for its Sustainability Edition.[38] A column from the paper was reprinted by All About Jazz in 2004.[39]

[edit] Global Technology Academy

Global Technology Academy (GTA) is a non-profit organization run through Garfield High School that takes students and computers to underserved nations around the world. High school students take old computers donated to GTA and refurbish them. The students then take the computers to various countries, set up computer labs, and teach the students there how to use them. GTA has taken 23 trips abroad, bringing computers to children in Ghana, Russia, Mozambique, the Gambia, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Philippines, Poland, India, Tanzania, and Turkey. The program is celebrated for the life-changing experiences it offers students on both ends.

[edit] Math Team

The Garfield Math Team is composed of several four-person teams. The teams consistently place at the top of Washington State math contests like the Northwest Math Championship, Mu Alpha Theta and Math is Cool. The team also participates in national contests like the American Mathematics Contest, the American Invitational Mathematics Examination and the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad. Several team members have attended prestigious summer math camps like the Mathematical Olympiad Program, which prepares high school students for the International Math Olympiad. Six of the twelve members of the '05-'06 school year team represented Washington State at the American Regions Mathematics League in Las Vegas. The Garfield Math Team also hosts the Garfield Annual Math Extravaganza. Only one adult (a teacher) is closely involved in the staging of the event, making it an enormous undertaking. The team must write several hundred unique problems, find sponsors and manage the contest itself, with hundreds of competitors. The competition is open to other math teams in Washington.


[edit] Music

The music program at Garfield High School is world-renowned, and has won numerous awards and the respect of many. It has seen several noted artists, including Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, and Ernestine Anderson, although Jimi Hendrix rarely attended school.

[edit] Orchestra

The orchestra, under the direction of Marcus Tsutakawa, currently holds Downbeat magazine's Best Overall Orchestra award, and has won the award multiple times previously. The orchestra program includes a symphony orchestra, a concert orchestra, and a thriving chamber music program. The orchestra has toured in Japan on numerous occasions. One tour included a joint concert with the Kobe Philharmonic Orchestra and a performance at the Asakuchi Music Festival in Satosho. It has also toured central Europe, finishing second in the internationally renowned Vienna, Austria, Austria Youth and Music Festival in 1997. The symphony orchestra is going to Boston in March of 2007, and plans on a tour to either China, Japan, or Europe for 2008. [40]

The orchestra routinely takes first place at the Northwest Orchestra Festival in Gresham, Oregon. It was a finalist for the 2004-2005 GRAMMY Signature School Program award. Each year many students participate in the Washington State Solo and Ensemble Contest and bring home awards. Every year around 20 students from the Orchestra play in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, often in principal positions. Garfield students also play in the Youth Symphony's Junior and Debut Orchestras, the Seattle Conservatory of Music Starling Scholar Chamber Orchestra, and many community ensembles. Garfield Orchestra members have had their original compositions debuted by the Seattle Symphony and the Youth Symphony. In 1995, Garfield guest conductor Gerard Schwarz, Music Director of the Seattle Symphony, said, "I don’t recall hearing a high school orchestra perform anywhere in this country on such a high level."[41]

Graduates of the Garfield Orchestra have been admitted to many of the top music programs around the country, including those at The Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, The Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University, New England Conservatory of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, and Oberlin College. Former Garfield Orchestra musicians hold principal positions in some of the country's leading orchestras, including The Cleveland Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony.[citation needed]

[edit] Marching Band

Some information in this article or section is not attributed to sources and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.

Garfield's marching band has been under the direction of Clarence Acox for over thirty years.[42] The Band plays at all school football games and it has been said that the band is the only reason that people even come to the games. The marching band also plays at home basketball games.

[edit] Drumline

Some information in this article or section is not attributed to sources and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.

The Garfield High School Drumline, also known as "Rick's Bricks" or "Purple Haze," represents the traditional styles of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities of the South. This style of drumming was recently exhibited in the 2002 film Drumline starring Nick Cannon. Each year, the drumline focuses on a different member of the HBCU (i.e. Southern University, Grambling State University, Hampton University, Jackson State University, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, etc.) and learns their style. In these traditions, the drumline is an ensemble meant to demonstrate musicianship and technique. A great deal of importance is placed on choreography, dance ability, and the overall quality of the cadences and performances. The Garfield Drumline uses a traditional New Orleans instrumentation, and includes members from the Garfield marching band, jazz band, orchestra, and choir. It is currently directed by Garfield Alumnus Eytan Nicholson. Members of the drumline performed a Stomp-like show in 2005 called Conundrum, using every day objects like water bottles and trash cans to make beats.

[edit] Pep Squad

The Pep Squad plays at all home volleyball games and occasionally travels to nearby away games. The band consists of: one snare drum, a tom or tenor drum, a bass drum, trumpets, and occasionally trombones, saxophones, and cymbals. The squad typically cheers between games and during time-outs. Pep Squad plays marching band songs, drum cadences and songs from popular culture, like the theme to The Godfather or Jeopardy!. [43]

[edit] Jazz

Garfield's jazz program, under the direction of Clarence Acox since 1971, [44] has won many state, national, and international awards and accolades in big band, combo, and individual categories. The Jazz Ensemble has toured Europe at least five times, most recently in the Montreaux and North Sea Jazz Festivals, and has attended the International Association of Jazz Educators' conference, as well as the Essentially Ellington Competition in New York City. It is the only band to win the 'First Place' trophy in consecutive years (2003-04). [45] Its consistent placement in national competitions and long history of national recognition make it one of the best high school jazz bands in the country. [46]

[edit] Awards by the Garfield HS Jazz Ensemble

Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival - Moscow, ID. (Division & sweepstakes awards):
1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Reno Jazz Festival Reno, - NV. (first place awards):
1981, 1982, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
Clark College Jazz Festival - Vancouver, WA. (all sweepstakes awards):
1995, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006
Viking Jazz Festival - Poulsbo, WA. (sweepstakes or first place awards):
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006
Bellevue Jazz Festival - Bellevue, WA. (all sweepstakes awards):
1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005
Mount Hood Jazz Festival - Gresham, OR. (first place awards):
1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2004
Fullerton College Jazz Festival – Fullerton, CA. (First place in ‘Heavy [Top] Division’):
1995
Essentially Ellington National Jazz Band Festival - New York, NY:
1999 (honorable mention), 2000 (honorable mention), 2002 (2nd place), 2003 (1st place), 2004 (1st place), 2006 (3rd place)
European Tours - The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium:
1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005

[edit] Spirit

[edit] School Song

I'm so glad, I go to Garfield High
I'm so glad, I go to Garfield High
I'm so glad, I go to Garfield High
Singin Glory, Hallelujah, I go to Garfield High

[47] [48] [49]

[edit] True Dog

Garfield also has a notable Cheer that is used at all the games.

Any dogs in the house true dogs?
Hell yeah!
Any dogs in the house true dogs?
Hell yeah!
And what the hell are we?
True Dogs!
And what the hell are we?
True Dogs!

[50]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Musicians and singers

[edit] Athletes

[edit] Others

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Seattle Public High Schools
Ballard High School | The Center School | Chief Sealth High School | Grover Cleveland High School
Benjamin Franklin High School | James A. Garfield High School | Ingraham High School | John Marshall High School
Middle College High School | Nathan Hale High School | The Nova Project | Rainier Beach High School
Roosevelt High School | Seattle Evening School | South Lake High School | West Seattle High School
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/a/r/Garfield_High_School_%28Seattle%2C_Washington%29_c879.html"