Tyee Educational Complex
Encyclopedia
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
campus located in SeaTac, Washington
SeaTac, Washington
SeaTac is an American city in southern King County, Washington, and an outlying suburb of Seattle, Washington. Incorporated in February 1990, the City of SeaTac is ten square miles in area and has a population of 26,909 according to the 2010 census...
, USA. It was founded originally as Tyee High School, a single public high school, in 1962. It is operated by the Highline School District
Highline School District
Highline Public Schools is a public school system in Washington, headquartered in Burien. As of October 2007, it serves 17,331 students and has 997 teachers...
.
Starting in the 2005-06 academic year, it was split from a single school into three smaller high schools as a part of the small schools movement
Small schools movement
The small schools movement, also known as the Small Schools Initiative, in the United States of America holds that many high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than 400 students, and optimally under 200. Many private schools of under 200...
. It is also a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools
Coalition of Essential Schools
The Coalition of Essential Schools is an organization created to further a type of whole-school reform originally envisioned by founder Ted Sizer in his book, Horace's Compromise. CES began in 1984 with twelve schools; it currently has 600 formal members.-Horace's Compromise:Horace's Compromise...
. The three schools are known as the Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment
Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment
The Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment is a public high school in SeaTac, Washington. It is one of three small schools at the Tyee Educational Complex, along with Global Connections High School and Odyssey — The Essential School. It was founded in 2005 when Tyee High School converted into...
(ACE), Global Connections High School
Global Connections High School
Global Connections High School is a public high school in SeaTac, Washington. It is one of three small schools at the Tyee Educational Complex, along with the Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment and Odyssey — The Essential School. It was founded in 2005 when Tyee High School converted into these...
, and Odyssey – The Essential School.
History
In 1963, Tyee High School was founded as a part of the Highline School District to serve an area between BurienBurien, Washington
Burien is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle. As of the 2010 Census, Burien's population is 33,313, which is a 2.9% increase since incorporation. Annexation in 2011 has increased the cities population to about 45,000....
and Des Moines
Des Moines, Washington
Des Moines is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 29,673 at the 2010 census. Property within the city has been the subject of land buyouts because of noise from aircraft landing or taking off from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport two miles to the north of...
in the west, and Tukwila
Tukwila, Washington
Tukwila is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The northern edge of Tukwila borders the city of Seattle. The population was 19,107 at the 2010 census.-History:...
in the east, which would later become the city of SeaTac.
Small schools conversion
In the years prior to the conversion, Tyee suffered from severe discipline and academic performance issues, and had become known as the "ghetto school" to students and adults in the surrounding community. New principal Max Silverman and the district's deputy superintendent, John Welch, knew that change was necessary and began to talk about how to improve the situation. In 2003, the school received a grant from the Discuren Foundation to begin research.Over the next several years, Silverman and Welch led the research, including traveling to other high schools across the nation to note what made such schools successful. This research led the staff to decide that a small schools approach was the best way to improve the school's standing. In the 2004–05 school year, the school instituted freshman "houses" intended to give incoming students more personalized instruction. The staff noted significant improvements, which support the idea of small, autonomous schools.
In 2004, Tyee received a large grant from the Coalition of Essential Schools to be used in the conversion process. In addition, they, along with the district's other three schools, received a Department of Education Small Learning Community grant. 2005 saw the added support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...
, which awarded a grant to the district, a significant portion of which went towards Tyee.
Beginning in the 2005–06 school year, Tyee ceased to operate as a single comprehensive high school and was split into the three small schools, as noted above. However, it was still recognized by the state as a single school, and thus its graduates received Tyee High School diplomas, and WASL
Washington Assessment of Student Learning
The Washington Assessment of Student Learning was a standardized educational assessment system given as the primary assessment in the state of Washington from spring 1997 to summer 2009. The WASL was also used as a high school graduation examination beginning in the spring of 2006 and ending in 2009...
scores were reported only for Tyee as a whole. The schools first held individual graduation ceremonies in 2007. In the same year, WASL scores were reported individually for each school.
Famous Alumni
- Adam Smith (politician)Adam Smith (politician)David Adam Smith , American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing Washington's 9th congressional district.-Biography:...
, DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
since 1997. - Steve PoolSteve PoolSteve Pool is the principal weather anchor for KOMO-TV in Seattle, having joined the station as an intern while attending the University of Washington...
, weather anchor for KOMO-TVKOMO-TVKOMO-TV, virtual channel 4, is a television station in Seattle, Washington. It is an affiliate of ABC and broadcasts on digital channel 38. KOMO-TV is the flagship station of Fisher Communications, and its studios and offices are co-located with sister radio stations KOMO , KVI , and KPLZ-FM ...
in Seattle. - Gary RidgwayGary RidgwayGary Leon Ridgway is an American serial killer known as the Green River Killer. He murdered numerous women in Washington during the 1980s and 1990s, earning his nickname when the first five victims were found in the Green River. He strangled them, usually with his arm but sometimes using ligatures...
, known as the Green River Killer. - Jeff Kingman, co-host of Jeff and Jeremy in the Morning on KZOZKZOZKZOZ is a radio station located in San Luis Obispo, California, broadcasting on 93.3 FM. KZOZ airs a rock music format.The station plays a mixture of classic rock from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, and current top rock hits...
, the highest rated morning radio show in San Luis Obispo County. - Go Periscope, electronicaElectronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
band, including members Florin Merano and Joshua Frazier. - Gary RidgwayGary RidgwayGary Leon Ridgway is an American serial killer known as the Green River Killer. He murdered numerous women in Washington during the 1980s and 1990s, earning his nickname when the first five victims were found in the Green River. He strangled them, usually with his arm but sometimes using ligatures...
, American serial killer, who has confessed to 71 murders ranging from 1982-1998.
Enrollment
In the years preceding the conversion, Tyee's enrollment was at just above 1200 students. As a condition of the Coalition of Essential Schools grant, the small schools were to each have no more than 400 students, resulting in the complex's total enrollment being closer to 1100. In the first two years of having small schools, students were not allowed to enroll in a specific school, instead being placed into one of the three depending on various factors. Beginning in the 2007-08 school year, students were allowed to enroll in the school of their choice.School facilities
Other parts of the complex are occupied by individual schools. Global Connections occupies the 300 and 600 buildings on the east side of the complex. ACE occupies the classrooms of the 700 building, which excludes portions operated by the complex, such as the gymnasiums. Odyssey occupies the 800 building, a large building at the top of the hill on the western side of the complex. This building was once part of neighboring Chinook Middle School, but since the 1981-1982 school year has been used by Tyee, and eventually Odyssey.
Levenhagen Observatory
The Levenhagen Observatory is an astronomicalAstronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
owned and operated by Tyee High School
Tyee High School
Tyee Educational Complex is a public high school campus located in SeaTac, Washington, USA. It was founded originally as Tyee High School, a single public high school, in 1962. It is operated by the Highline School District....
. It is named after Physics/Astronomy teacher Warren Levenhagen.
Sports
Athletics are one of the few areas in which all three schools remain combined, as it is unlikely that any of the individual schools would have the ability to field a full team in any event. The sports teams fashion themselves the Totems, after the traditional Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
totem pole
Totem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
s. The complex as a whole fields varsity teams in football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, cross country, soccer, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, fastpitch, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, and track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
.
Tyee has been largely unsuccessful in athletics, having earned only three state championships in its history, in cross country in 1975 and 1976, and girls' soccer in 1984. Tyee has not made a state tournament since 2004 in girls' basketball. In addition, Tyee holds the dubious distinction of once having the state's longest losing streak in football, at 46 games from 1988 to 1993.
See also
- Levenhagen Observatory