Interlake High School

Interlake High School
Location
16245 NE 24th Street Bellevue, WA 98008
Information
Type	Public high school
Motto	Integrity, Humanity, Scholarship
Established	1967
Principal	Maria Frieboes-Gee[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,430[1]
Color(s)	Navy, Columbia, White
Mascot	Saint Bernard
Information	(425) 456-7200
Nickname	Saints
Website	bsd405.org/interlake

Interlake HS

Location in the United States

Interlake High School (IHS), is a public secondary school in Bellevue, Washington, one of the four traditional high schools in the Bellevue School District. It is known for its diversity, rigorous academics, the International Baccalaureate program, and its Gifted and Talented program. Its mascot is a Saint Bernard named Bernie, and the school's sports teams are known as the "Saints". The current principal is Maria Frieboes-Gee; Jeff Lowell and Katie Klug are the assistant principals.^[1]

History

Interlake High School opened in 1967^[2] to serve students from the Eastside, mainly those within a few miles of Lake Sammamish. In 1997, Interlake began offering the International Baccalaureate program,^[3] and in 2006, the Gifted And Talented Education program started as an extension of the middle-school PRISM program.

In 2003, the Interlake High School Construction Project began.^[4] Over the next few years, most of the school was torn to the ground and rebuilt while its students continued to attend class in portables. Interlake reopened its brand-new doors at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.

Interlake's outdoor facilities include a turf football field, two concession stands (run by different groups), baseball and softball fields, seven tennis courts, a courtyard, and three parking lots. Its indoor facilities include three gyms, a Performing Arts Center, a technology wing, a horticulture building, a music wing with four soundproof practice rooms, a commons area, and a library.

Demographics and special programs

As of the 2010–2011 school year, Interlake has approximately 1,420 students, the largest enrollment since the 1980s. Interlake's class sizes have grown larger and larger in recent years, beginning with the 250-student freshman body of 2006.^[1]

Interlake's students include a large variety of races, ethnicities, religions, ideals, and backgrounds. 51% of students are white, 29% are Asian, 9% are Hispanic, 8% are multiracial, and 3% are African-American.^[1] Many student organizations have been created to group people of different backgrounds, including the Jewish Student Union, Campus Christian (originally known as "The Reach" or simply "Bible Club"), Gay-Straight Alliance, Black Student Union, Ginger Club (for redheads), Islamic Cultural Awareness Club, French Club, and ELITES (Estudiantes Latinos Internacionales Trabajando por una Educacion Superior).

More than a third of students speak a first language other than English,^[5] and many more are multilingual. Widely known languages at IHS include Chinese, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Hindi, and Russian. Interlake requires two language credits and offers tuition in French, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. It also has an extensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program that allows students arriving from foreign countries to learn English as a secondary language.

Another special program at Interlake is its Center program for Special Education. Students with disabilities from all over the district, age 14 to 21, come to Interlake to experience a typical school day adjusted to their individual needs. Interlake's Center program has five classes, including Self-Contained (for the students who are best suited to staying in a primarily Special Ed environment), several classes of students who spend part of their day in the building referred to as the Apartment and part of it in mainstream IHS classes, and the Transition program. The Transition program teaches 18- to 21-year-olds work, interaction, and life skills to prepare them for later life; the students go out and work in different jobs for most of the day to practice these skills. A unique feature to Interlake's Center program is that mainstream students can sign up to help out in the Center for a period in their schedule.

Academics

Newsweek magazine has consistently ranked Interlake High School among the best high schools in the nation (as measured by the number of AP and IB tests administered, divided by the number of graduating seniors) since it initiated its ranking of U.S. high schools in 2003. Interlake ranked 13th in the nation in 2010.^[6] In 2013, the Washington Post ranked Interlake as #1 in the state of Washington, as well as #34 in the nation.^[7]

Gifted and Talented Program

The PRISM program continuation from Spiritridge Elementary School and Odle Middle School to Interlake began in 2006, allowing students to be in the program through high school. Due to the PRISM program continuation and the International Baccalaureate program, which students in the PRISM program at Interlake take one year earlier than usual, the faculty expects to see a student population increase.^[8]

The program, which is currently in its fifth year of implementation (the 2010-2011 school year), extends the science, English, and social studies classes further in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Interlake High School.^[9] In the IB program, PRISM students complete the IB diploma during 10th and 11th grade, rather than the usual 11th and 12th grade. Bellevue College also provides special English and social studies classes for PRISM students in their senior year, such as psychology.^[10]

Notable alumni

• Michael Allan – former tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs
• Larry Andersen – former Major League Baseball player from 1975 to 1994
• Brad Barquist - highest finishing American at the 1996 Olympics and current Interlake cross country coach
• Chris DeGarmo – former guitarist for the Grammy Nominated band Queensrÿche
• Luke Esser – state senator and chairman of the Washington State Republican Party^[2]
• Tom Flick – former quarterback for University of Washington and former NFL quarterback with the Washington Redskins,^[2]
• Glenn Kelman – CEO of Redfin and co-founder of Plumtree Software^[11]
• Jim Mora – former NFL head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, University of Washington LB-DB^[12] current head football coach of the UCLA Bruins
• John Olerud – former Major League Baseball player.^[2]
• Timothy Omundson – professional actor, currently on Psych (USA Network)^[13]
• Steve Pelluer – former quarterback for the University of Washington, the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs^[2]
• Matt Pitman – former Public address announcer of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics
• Chuck Swirsky – radio play by play announcer of the NBA's Chicago Bulls
• Nancy Wilson (rock musician) – co-leader with her sister Ann of the world famous band Heart; class of 1972
• Michael Wilton – guitarist for the Grammy Nominated band Queensrÿche
• Brian Wood – anchor and reporter for KATU-TV in Portland, Oregon^[2]

References

External links

• Official website
• Interlake High School P.T.S.A.
• Interlake High School Construction Project
• The 100 Best High Schools in America
• Interlake IB Diploma Program

Coordinates: 47°37′44″N 122°07′26″W / 47.629°N 122.124°W / 47.629; -122.124