Skyline High School (Washington)

Skyline High School is a four-year public secondary school in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle. The third and newest high school in the Issaquah School District, it opened in the fall of 1997 and serves the district's northern portion. The school colors are green and silver and the mascot is a Spartan.

Overview

The 50-acre (0.20 km²) campus is at the northern boundary of the school district, and straddles the apex of the Sammamish Plateau in the city of Sammamish, at an approximate elevation of 550 feet (170 m) above sea level. For five academic years (2005–10), Skyline was a three-year senior high school (gr. 10–12). Its students fed from the Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, a 9th-grade-only school which also included the freshman class for rival Issaquah High School. Prior to 2005, two middle schools directly fed Skyline: Beaver Lake and Pine Lake. Pacific Cascade was reassigned as a middle school (grades 6–8) in the fall of 2010^[3] and the two high schools (Skyline and Issaquah) regained their freshmen classes.

To accommodate the return of the freshman class, Skyline underwent a significant renovation from 2007-10 that added 24 new classrooms and science labs, a new black box theater and 3-D art room, and additional athletic facilities. Bassetti Architects was the architectural firm for the renovation.

Skyline is one of three high schools on the Sammamish Plateau, all close in proximity along 228th Avenue. Eastlake High School, in the Lake Washington School District, opened in 1993 and is about a mile (1.6 km) north of Skyline. Between the two public high schools is Eastside Catholic, a private secondary school which relocated to Sammamish in 2008.

Academics

Skyline has the reputation of being a competitive academic school, with an on-time graduation rate of 95.1%.^[4] Skyline offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program to all juniors and seniors. Freshmen and sophomores who are accelerated in math also have access to IB Math.

Activities

Skyline DECA is the largest academic student organization on campus with over 300 members. The chapter has achieved success in both community services and structured competitions. The DECA program qualified 218 students to state and 55 to the national competition in 2009, producing 2 second places, 5 top-ten national finalists, 2 top-twenty national finalists and 3 sub-category finalists.^[5]

The largest extracurricular organization at Skyline is Key Club, also with over 200 members. The chapter is part of Pacific Northwest Division 28, which has a record of winning the Spirit Award at district conventions.^[5]

The school's student-run debate program, JSA, is the third largest chapter in the Pacific Northwest State (PNW). They won the PNW title of "Chapter of the Year" in 2008-2009 and placed fourth in a national competition for chapter excellence.^[5] It is one of the school's larger clubs, with over 150 members.

Skyline has several STEM clubs which compete successfully in state and national competitions. The Skyline CLUB MED often wins 1st Place at state competitions, regularly qualifying its members to the national level of HOSA. At the 2015 HOSA National Leadership Conference, CLUB MED won the National Championship in Forensic Medicine and made WA HOSA history as the first Washington students to win medals. The Skyline Rocketry Club regularly qualifies for the Team America Rocketry Challenge, and the Skyline Science Club competes successfully in the Science Olympiad.

Skyline's cheer program also has four state titles including two earned in 2011. They compete nationally at UCA nationals in Los Angeles, California.

Skyline's theatre program features three productions per year, ranging from straight comedies and dramas, to a musical. Their theatre troupe is also a part of the International Thespian Society, and they send many students to a state competition to compete on behalf of Skyline. They also have standard Theatre Arts as a course offering and IB Theatre as the advanced theatre arts class. Activities include short and long term improv, acting theory, directing, design, and much more. In 2014, the leading actress for their spring musical won Best Leading Actress in the Washington State 5th Avenue Theatre awards, and was sent to compete in New York City and represent Skyline. In 2015, Drama Club competed in the ESUUS Shakespeare Competition. Over 100 students participate in the theatre program throughout the year.

The music department at Skyline features four choirs (Treble Choir, Concert Chorale, Chanson Choir, and Vocal Jazz), three bands (Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Band), the Skyline Symphony (with option to perform in Evergreen Philharmonic by audition), and a guitar ensemble. Skyline's Jazz Band and Vocal Jazz compete annually at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. In 2012 Jazz Band won their division and in 2013 and 2014 Vocal Jazz won at Lionel Hampton. Music students are also selected annually to attend the All-Northwest and Washington All State music groups. Annually, students compete at state solo ensemble and many place or receive "I" ratings. In 2013, Skyline had two mezzo-sopranos, a baritone (who placed third), a violinist, a string bassist, and a French hornist all compete in solo divisions. For ensembles, a mixed vocal quartet and a strings quintet competed. All of the music groups combined encompass several hundred students. Other music course options include piano, movies and music, songwriting and sequencing, and more. In previous years, multiple soloists and ensembles have placed in the competition.

Athletics

With 19 varsity teams, 13 junior varsity teams and seven "C" teams, the athletic program provides opportunities for hundreds to compete.

Classification

Skyline competes in WIAA Class 4A, with the state's largest schools. SHS competed in 3A for its first seven years, then moved up to 4A for the 2004–05 and 2005–06 academic years. It dropped back to 3A for two years (2006–07 and 2007–08), then returned to 4A for 2008–09. Skyline is one of 9 schools in the KingCo 4A conference, along with Issaquah, Newport, Eastlake, Redmond, Bothell, Inglemoor, Mt. Si, and Woodinville. KingCo 4A is the only 4A conference in the state's SeaKing District Two, which includes Seattle and east King County.

State titles

Skyline's football program has seven state titles ((3A) 2000, (4A) 2005, (3A) 2007; (4A) 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012),^[6] and many alumni have played Division I college football. The girls' soccer team has four 4A state titles (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012), and the girls' swim and dive team won three consecutive 4A state titles (2009, 2010, 2011), as well as a title in 2015, beating the competition by over 50 points each time.^[5] In track and field, the girls' team won the 3A state title in 2007. In Ultimate Frisbee, the Spartans went 7-1 during the regular season and won the 2013 Spring B-Division championship.

Notable alumni

• Jake Heaps - NFL free agent quarterback, waived before regular season by the New York Jets. Played college ball with Miami Hurricanes, Kansas Jayhawks and the BYU Cougars (Class of 2010).
• Kasen Williams - NFL wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks, and formerly for the Washington Huskies (Class of 2011).
• Max Browne - Collegiate quarterback for the USC Trojans (Class of 2013).
• Riley Griffiths - Actor in the J. J. Abrams film Super 8 and current collegiate lineman for Montana State University (Class of 2015).

References

External links

• Official website
• Issaquah School District #411: Skyline High School
• Skyline Athletics
• Skyline Football
• KingCo Conference
• KingCo schedules
• WIAA SeaKing District 2