Tyee Educational Complex
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Tyee Educational Complex is a public high school campus located in SeaTac, Washington. It contains three small schools: the Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment, Global Connections High School, and Odyssey — The Essential School. All three schools are part of the Highline School District, and each school serves between 300 and 400 students.
The campus was originally founded as Tyee High School in 1962. In 2005, the school was converted into the three small schools that exist today.
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[edit] Small schools conversion
In 2003, the school received a grant to begin research with the goal of making significant improvements to the school. The staff concluded that a small schools approach was the mostly likely to fulfill their goals, and in 2004 were given a grant by the Coalition of Essential Schools to begin work on the conversion process. During the 2004-05 school year, the school separated the incoming freshman into "houses", which resulted in notable improvements for those students. From then through the summer of 2005, the school continued the process, hiring individual principals and having remodeling done on campus buildings. In September 2005, the three schools opened up individually for the first time. The year after, the schools were accredited as individual establishments.[1][2]
[edit] Operation
All three schools operate independent of one another, with each having its own principal and faculty. Other aspects of the schools, such as student clubs, are connected to only one school. Space limitations necessitate that the schools share several campus buildings, such as the cafeteria, library, and gymnasium. The schools held a combined graduation ceremony in 2006, as the campus was still accredited as Tyee High School; in 2007, the schools held separate graduation ceremonies for the first time.
[edit] Schools
[edit] Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment
| Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment | |
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| A plaque representing the school's logo and name | |
| Address | |
|---|---|
| 4424 S. 188th St. SeaTac, Washington, King County, 98188, USA |
|
| Information | |
| School district | Highline School District |
| Principal | Stacy Spector |
| Staff | 43 |
| School type | Public high school |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Established | 2005 |
| Homepage | http://hsd401.org/ourschools/highschools/ace/ |
The Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment (A.C.E.) is a small, public college-preparatory school located on the Tyee Educational Complex. The school's declared mission is to "provide an equitable education for all ACE students".[3] A student described A.C.E. as focusing on "social justice".[1]
The school's staff has been recognized with many honors. In 2006, American Sign Language teacher Joani Bishop was named Career and Technical Teacher of the Year by the Washington Association for Career and Technical Education.[4] A.C.E. teacher Bethany Plett was presented the winter 2007 Sizer Dissertation Scholars Award by the Coalition of Essential Schools, of which A.C.E. is a member of.[5] In 2007, language arts teacher Alexis McFarland received the Highline School District Teacher of the Year for Secondary Education award,[6] and office manager Gail Korakis was named the district's Classified Employee of the Year.[7]
[edit] Global Connections High School
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| Global Connections High School | |
| Address | |
|---|---|
| 4424 S. 188th St. SeaTac, Washington, King County, 98188, USA |
|
| Information | |
| School district | Highline School District |
| Principal | Rick Harwood |
| Staff | 24 |
| School type | Public school |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Established | 2005 |
| Homepage | http://hsd401.org/ourschools/highschools/global/ |
Global Connections High School is a small, public school located on the Tyee Educational Complex. The school's declared mission is to "prepare all students to thrive as world citizens who actively contribute to the global community".[8] A student of the school described the curriculum as focusing on "cultural and global understanding".[1]
[edit] Odyssey — The Essential School
| Odyssey — The Essential School | |
 |
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| A plaque representing the school's name and logo, it has since been destroyed by a large Samoan named K'Lifa | |
| Address | |
|---|---|
| 4424 S. 188th St. SeaTac, Washington, King County, 98188, USA |
|
| Information | |
| School district | Highline School District |
| Principal | Joan Ferrigno |
| Staff | 27 |
| School type | Public school |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Established | 2005 |
| Homepage | http://hsd401.org/ourschools/highschools/odyssey/ |
Odyssey — The Essential School is a small, public school located on the Tyee Educational Complex. The declared mission of the school is to "cultivate a safe, supportive, and equitable community of learners".[9] An Odyssey student described the school's focus as "student leadership and student empowerment".[1]
[edit] Recognition
As a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, Tyee has been recognized significantly in publications by the organization. Students from all three schools have had articles published in Horace, a quarterly journal published by the Coalition. Tyee is featured in the third part of the organization's EssentialVisions DVD set in a section titled "Democracy and Equity".[10]
Tyee was mentioned in an article about small school conversion in The Seattle Times.[11]
[edit] Athletics
The schools combine athletic operations, as they do not have the facilities or turnout to allow for separate programs. Tyee athletic teams fashion themselves the Totems, after totem poles. Stylized totem poles stood on the campus until 2005. Since the conversion, all the totem poles have been removed; however, representations of the old Tyee High School still exist, particularly in the cafeteria and gymnasium.
Tyee has not had great success in athletics, having earned only three championships in state competitions: in 3A boys' cross country in 1975 and 1976; and in 3A girls' soccer in 1984. Tyee has not made a state tournament since 2004, when the girls' basketball team made the 3A playoffs for the first time in their history.[12] In addition, Tyee holds a dubious distinction: its football team holds the state's longest losing streak at 46 games from 1988 to 1993.[13]
In spring 2006, Tyee hired Ny'lka Long to coach the football and track teams, after he had resigned from Lindbergh High School.[14] He was later hired as the athletic director for the campus, as well as girls' basketball coach.[15] In late 2006, he was put on administrative leave as police investigated allegations of forgery. He was terminated upon the revelation that he forged the signatures of two assistant coaches in order to receive their paychecks.[16]
[edit] Notable alumni
Of Tyee High School, 1962-2005:
- Steve Pool — primary weather forecaster for Seattle's KOMO-TV since 1984
- Gary Ridgway — the Green River Killer, a serial killer of around 50 women between 1982 and 1984
- Adam Smith — Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d EssentialVisions Disc 3: School Culture [DVD]. Oakland, CA: Coalition of Essential Schools. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
- ^ "Creating Something Truly Different on the Tyee Campus" (PDF) (January 2006). The Learning Network 4 (4): 3–5. Seattle, WA: Small Schools Project.
- ^ Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
- ^ Highline School District eHighlights 09/29/06. Highline School District (2006-09-26). Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
- ^ Highline School District eHighlights 03/30/07. Highline School District (2007-03-30). Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
- ^ Highline School District eHighlights 05/11/07. Highline School District (2007-05-11). Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
- ^ Highline School District eHighlights 05/25/07. Highline School District (2007-05-25). Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
- ^ Global Connections High School. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
- ^ Odyssey - The Essential School Website. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
- ^ CES EssentialVisions. Coalition of Essential Schools. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ Shaw, Linda. "Foundation's small-schools experiment has yet to yield big results", The Seattle Times, 2006-11-05. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ WIAA State Tournament History. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Smith, Craig. "Too many men on the field? Depends on geography, opinion", The Seattle Times, 2006-11-19. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Massey, Matt. "Prep Notes: Roosevelt's rough baseball ride over?", The Seattle Times, 2006-04-12. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ "NW Briefs: Bosnia in All Nations semifinal", The Seattle Times, 2006-07-28. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Singer, Natalie. "Former Tyee AD charged with forgery", The Seattle Times, 2007-02-09. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
[edit] External links
- Webpages on Highline School District site
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