Seattle Preparatory School

Seattle Preparatory School
Virtus in Arduis Virtue in Hard Work
Address
2400 11th Avenue East Seattle, Washington, (King County), 98102 United States
Coordinates	47°38′29″N 122°19′03″W / 47.641387°N 122.317531°W / 47.641387; -122.317531Coordinates: 47°38′29″N 122°19′03″W / 47.641387°N 122.317531°W / 47.641387; -122.317531
Information
Type	Private
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic Jesuit
Established	1891 (1891)
CEEB Code	481160[1]
President	Kent Hickey
Principal	Maureen Reid
Vice principal	Michael Kelly (student life) Ms. Kathy Tullis (academics)
Faculty	55
Grades	9–12
Gender	Coeducational
Enrollment	720
Average class size	13
Student to teacher ratio	11:1
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	blue and white
Fight song	"Hail to thee our fighting Panthers"
Athletics conference	Metro AAA League
Mascot	Panther
Nickname	Seattle Prep
Team name	Panthers
Accreditation	Northwest Accreditation Commission [2]
Newspaper	The Seattle Prep Panther
Tuition	$16,725
Website	seaprep.org
McDonnell Hall with PACCAR Commons

Seattle Preparatory School, popularly known as Seattle Prep, is a private, Jesuit high school located on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington.

Early history

St. Ignatius

Seattle Prep was founded in 1891 by two Jesuit priests, Victor Garrand and Adrian Sweere, as the School of the Immaculate Conception. Its original location was St. Francis Hall at the corner of 6th Avenue and Spring Street in downtown Seattle, and the school offered both high-school and college-level classes. In 1898, the school changed its name to Seattle College and moved to First Hill, at which point the high school split off as Seattle College High School and moved to its present location. Seattle College High School changed its name to Seattle Preparatory School in 1933. Seattle College later became Seattle University in 1948 and remains affiliated with the prep school through Matteo Ricci College.

Curriculum

Seattle Prep has an innovative curriculum arrangement with Seattle University wherein students of Seattle Prep can qualify for admission to Seattle University after three years of education at Seattle Prep under the Matteo Ricci College program, named after the 16th Century Jesuit missionary to China Matteo Ricci. Students admitted to Seattle University under the Matteo Ricci College program can acquire a Bachelor of Arts degree after three more years, thus reducing the combined study requirement for the Bachelor of Arts degree to six years, versus eight years in a traditional four year high school and a traditional four year college. Students can then elect a course load at Seattle University with electives which can qualify for a second bachelor's degree with an additional year of study (it is not uncommon for a student to acquire two bachelor's degrees through this program of study, such as one in the humanities and another in the sciences.) This unique curriculum arrangement is fully accredited and has received several awards, including recognition from the prestigious Academy for Educational Development as "one of the twelve most successful educational innovations" in America.

Not all Seattle Prep students elect or are able to pursue the Matteo Ricci program. Instead many pursue a traditional four year course of study at Seattle Prep and then pursue other arrangements (entrance into a four-year college, or a two-year college). Seattle Prep annually sends students to the nation's top public and private universities. Recent graduates can be found at Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Stanford, the University of Virginia, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington.

Seattle Prep emphasizes its curriculum for college preparation. Its literature and humanities courses are known as Collegio. Collegio combines the study of literature and social studies into a single interdisciplinary course. Art is taught in AAD (Artistic/Aesthetic Development) and freshman physical education is taught in PPD (Psychological-Physical Development).

A wide variety of extracurricular activities are offered at Seattle Prep including Chess Team, Mock Trial, Dance Team, Yearbook, Newspaper, ASB, Photography Club, One Voice, Global Justice Coalition, National Honors Society, Community Service Club, Philosophy Club, and Drama.

Admissions are based on grades, extracurricular activities, an entrance exam, reference letters, and essays, among other criteria.

Facts and figures

Facts and figures (as of 2008):

Fight song

Magis Christian Service

Seattle Prep has a 4-year requirement of various community service. The four year Magis Christian Service Program at Seattle Prep exposes students to many different forms of service including service to family (freshman), to school (sophomore), to the poor and marginalized (junior), and to leadership for justice (senior).

Physical structure

McHugh Gymnasium & St. Ignatius Hall

In the 1950s, McDonnell Hall was added to the existing Adelphia Hall, and in the 1960s, Peyton Hall was added across the parking lot from McDonnell and Adelphia Halls. The McHugh Gymnasium was built in front of Adelphia Hall and opened in 1983, a result of the school's first major fundraising campaign. Funds from this campaign were used to remodel the third floor of Adelphia Hall for improved science facilities. During this time the library, which then became known as Loyola Library, was moved to Peyton Hall.

There were several major additions to Seattle Prep in the late 1990s. A new underground parking garage was built to replace the old parking lot, which was replaced by a grass quad. In addition, St. Ignatius Hall was erected across from Peyton and McDonnell Halls.

Thomas Healy SJ Theater

In 2007, the PACCAR Commons (Donated by the Pigott family) were completed, including new office space with reception desks and also a sick room. Also construction was completed on the Thomas Healy, S.J., Theater and Classrooms. This was the first major renovation since the addition of St. Ignatius Hall. The theater, which also accommodates school Masses, features an orchestra pit with hydraulics moving it up and down for various uses, including the transportation of heavy equipment. The workout rooms and locker rooms were also altered in this remodel. The space below the theater is used for arts classes, a sacristy (to be used for liturgies and Masses), and weight/workout rooms. In 2008, sections of pathway around the campus plaza were redone. Also, electronic doors were installed on several major entrances.

Notable alumni

• Greg Nickels, former mayor of Seattle (2002–2010) ^[4]
• Mike McGavick, former CEO of Safeco and former Republican candidate for the United States Senate
• Don Kardong, Olympic marathon runner
• Tom Gorman, former professional tennis player
• Martell Webster, professional basketball player, Washington Wizards ^[5]
• Spencer Hawes, professional basketball player, Philadelphia 76ers ^[6]
• Bryce Fisher, former NFL defensive lineman (1999–2008) ^[7]
• Joe Lombardi, NFL offensive coordinator, Detroit Lions ^[8][9]
• John Marchione, mayor of Redmond, Washington
• John McKay, former US Attorney for the Western District Of Washington ^[10]
• John Spellman, former governor of Washington (1981–1985) ^[11]
• Grant Gauger, professor of neurosurgery at University of California, San Francisco ^[12]
• Bob Bellinger, American football player

Athletics and activities

Seattle Prep has won numerous league and state titles in many different men's and women's sports. As of 2010, by size Prep is a high-end 1A class school, but plays up in 3A classification.

The girls' soccer team, led by Hall of Fame coach Andy Hendricks, are back-to-back state champions (2011 and 2012) and have four other appearances in the state championship game.

The girls basketball team qualified for State 14 years in a row, winning it all in 2002.

Prep's volleyball team won three straight state titles from 2001–2003, and returned to the champions circle in 2010.

The boys' basketball team won state titles in 2000 and 2006 and narrowly missed another title in 2012 losing in the state championship game. The team has qualified for State 6 of the last 7 seasons. Prep boys' basketball has a rich tradition of players who have gone on to star in college and the NBA, including Spencer Hawes (UW and Los Angeles Clippers), Martell Webster (Washington Wizards), Erik Bond (St. Mary's College and Cal), Patrick Nyeko (Nevada), David Emslie (Santa Clara), Jeffrey Day (Creighton and UW), Chad Troyer (Pacific), Mitch Brewe (UC Santa Barbara), DJ Fenner (Nevada) and a number of other players at DII and DIII schools.

Prep men's cross country team won the title in 1966 (led by future 4th place finisher in the Montreal Olympics marathon Don Kardong), 1972, and 2000. Under current coaches Dr. John "Doc" Robertson and Mr. Savage, Prep's men's cross country teams have finished as one of the top four 3A teams every year but one since 1996. During that span, Prep never placed lower than second in the Metro League. In 2006 Prep gained its first All-American in cross country, Max O'Donoghue-McDonald, who placed 15th at the Footlocker Nationals meet. Max also broke a longstanding Lower Woodland course record, clocking 15:22 for the 5 kilometer distance. Also in 2006, Prep won its first women's Metro League team title.

In 1998, Seattle Prep junior Patrick Fowler set the national high school 100-yard-breaststroke record in a time of 53.66, still the record as of March 1, 2009.^[13][14]

The Mock Trial program boasts one national championship and ten state titles in the last twelve years (winning State in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014). Prep has placed in the top-10 at the National High School Mock Trial Championship eight times during that span. Its 3d place finish in 2009 was the best in program history, until the program won the national title in 2014.

The Prep Chess Team has played in the Washington High School State Team Championship in each of the past 17 years. Its highest finishes were 2nd (2002), 3rd (2009), 5th (2005 and 2010), and 6th (1999). In 1999, they also won the Metro Championship.

References