Sammamish High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Sammamish High School


School type Public
Established 1959
Principal Laura Bang-Knudsen
Faculty 116 (November 2006)
Students 1205 (October 2006)
Assistant Principal
Mascot
Colors		 Andrea Pfeifer & Jose Rodriguez
Totems
Red, Black, and White
Location 100 140th Ave. SE
Bellevue, WA 98005
Information (425)456-7600
Website http://www.bsd405.org/shs/

Sammamish High School is one of four regular 9-12 high schools in Bellevue School District (Bellevue, WA). The school's mascot is the Totems, and its colors are red, black, and white. The current principal is Laura Bang-Knudsen, with Andrea Pfeifer and Jose Rodriguez serving as Assistant Principals. Previous principal Spencer Welch departed after the 2005-06 school year to become Director of Human Resources for the school district, while Rodriguez' predecessor, Jennifer Rose, is now the principal of Medina Elementary School.

Sammamish generally serves students from the east zone of the district, but students from outside its attendance area can enroll at the school through its open enrollment policy. The student body is the most diverse in the district, with more than 35% of the students come from minority backgrounds.[1] Sammamish High's feeder elementary schools are Cherry Crest, Stevenson, Lake Hills, Phantom Lake, and Spiritridge. Its feeder middle schools are Odle and Tillicum.

The school is well known for its arts magnet program (Sammamish Visual and Performing Arts Center), solid and challenging Advanced Placement classes, strong career and technical programs, and its unique block schedule (see below). Sammamish was named the Washington state recipient of 2006-07 Siemens Awards of Advanced Placement.[2] This award recognizes the excellence of Sammamish's Advanced Placement instructions and student performances.[3] Sammamish was also recognized as a Community Treasure in 2005, part of the nationally sponsored Neighborhood Matters! program. In addition to citing the school's many community-service contributions, this award recognized the school for "valuing diversity" and for its "warm, inclusive climate.[4]"

Contents

[edit] Academics

Sammamish High School has a tradition of academic excellence. The school was ranked as #190 in 2006, #227 in 2005, and #141 in 2003[5]out of all the high schools in United States by Newsweek Magazine. The ranking is based on the number of Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate tests taken divided by number of graduating seniors. All other high schools[6] in the district including the 6-12 International School are on the list of the best 1,000 high schools within the US (some argue that the Newsweek index is unfair for various reasons[7] while others point out that Sammamish's lack of an IB program deflates its rating as compared to its neighbor school, Interlake High School).

Sammamish has used a block schedule since the 1999-2000 school year. Instead of the district standard schedule, which places students in seven 50-minute classes each day, Sammamish students attend four 90-minute classes each day. Terms are half as long, so that one semester in class is good for a credit (as opposed to a full year). This allows students to take multiple levels of the same course progression each year, as well as making possible the creation of "integrated" classes, which usually run for a full year and allow students to earn credit for multiple classes in the same period.[8]

Under the decision of Program Delivery Council on Dec. 13, 2006, Sammamish will switch back to a regular 7-period schedule starting 2007-08 school year.[8] Principal Bang-Knudsen and PDC Facilitator George Westergaard cited two main reasons to switch back to a regular schedule. The faculty at Sammamish need to obtain a waiver from Bellevue Education Association because teachers lose an hour planning time a day under the block schedule. The faculty consensus of approving the block schedule was 60%, not enough to obtain a waiver next year.[citation needed] PDC also failed to formulate a four period block schedule that would not require a waiver and would not further decrease the curriculum coverage time. The survey conducted earlier this year showed an overwhelmingly approval rating of block schedule from parents and students, and some of them have already started to complain and boycott the decision. Parents and students criticized that Superintendent Mike Riley had asserted a considerable amount of resistance to the block schedule because of Sammamish's relatively lower test scores and the district's attempt to standardize the curriculum. Supporters of the block schedule also cited Sammamish's high out-of-district and out-of-attendance-area student population because of the block schedule. They are afraid that the decision will result in a student population decline.[citation needed]

[edit] Athletics

Sammamish High School is a member of the KingCo 3A Conference, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. 22 sports are played over the course of three seasons at Sammamish, with Cheer and Drill active year-round. Past statistics can be found at the WIAA website.[9]

[edit] Activities

Sammamish High School is home to a variety of extracurricular activities. Associated Student Body and administrators coordinate these throughout the schoolyear. Academically, the school houses chapters of the National Honor Society, National Arts Honor Society, Tri-M(Music Honor Society), Mu Alpha Theta(National Math Honor Society), and as of the 2006-07 school year, a startup debate club. An active Multicultural Club conducts events to demonstrate the diversity of the student body and coordinates the annual "Taste of Sammamish" culinary festival. Also, the Arts Magnet Program creates opportunities for students to participate in actual production. The school's theater, opened in early 2005, cost the district $4.5 million[10] and is now home to at least two student productions each year. It contains professional equipment and is sometimes available to outside groups for rent, making it the third professional-quality theater in King County, Washington.[11] Sammamish Graphic Arts students often participate in state and regional graphics competitions. The school offers a fully-functional hot glass studio and extensive programs centered on healthcare. The jazz choir has won numerous awards,[12] and along with jazz band competes in the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival each year. Jazz choir was recently featured in Bellevue Community College's Vocal Jazz Invitational with its award-winning vocal jazz ensemble Celebration!. It recently won 1st Runner-up in the most competitive Multi-Mic Division at Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.[13]

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] Links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.bsd405.org/shs/
  2. ^ http://www.siemens-foundation.org/documents/2006_07%20AP%20Award%20Winners.pdf
  3. ^ http://www.siemens-foundation.org/documents/SAAPRelease2007.pdf
  4. ^ http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolguide/profile.php?results=&building_id=3282&search=
  5. ^ http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolguide/profile.php?results=&building_id=3282&search=
  6. ^ Bellevue High School, Newport High School, and Interlake High School
  7. ^ http://www.educationsector.org/analysis/analysis_show.htm?doc_id=358299
  8. ^ a b http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolguide/profile.php?results=&building_id=3282&search=
  9. ^ http://www.wiaa.com/Athletics/SSS/
  10. ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002265104_biglove06e.html
  11. ^ http://www.mahlum.com/ourWork/?nodeID=1708
  12. ^ http://curriculum.bsd405.org/MySite/Public.aspx?accountname=BSD%5cfowlers
  13. ^ http://www.today.uidaho.edu/details.aspx?id=3758
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/a/m/Sammamish_High_School_9f5e.html"