SEHOME HIGH SCHOOL

2700 Bill McDonald Parkway

Bellingham, WA  98225

Phone:  (360) 676-6481                                                                               FAX:  (360) 676-5343

2007-2008                                                       480-083                    wwwshs1.bham.wednet.edu

Principal:  Phyllis Textor

Counselors:

       Bobby Stafford                                                         Julie Kratzig                                                  Michelle Nilsen

                  A – F                                                                     G – M                                                                N - Z

rstaffor@bham.wednet.edu                                jkratzig@bham.wednet.edu                            mnilsen@bham.wednet.edu

 

THE COMMUNITY

Sehome High School is located in Bellingham, Washington.  Located on Bellingham Bay with Mt. Baker as its backdrop, Bellingham, in Whatcom County, is the last major city before the Washington coastline meets the Canadian border. Bellingham, the county seat, is 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, B.C.  Today, Bellingham has an active waterfront port that supports fishing, cold storage, boat building, shipping, paper processing and marina operations.  Bellingham is home to Western Washington University, a nationally recognized and respected, mid-sized comprehensive university of approximately 13,000 students.  Located in a district with approximately 10,000 students, Sehome High is one of three traditional high schools. Sehome serves the population living in the western and southwestern section of the city.  This area includes attractive residential and multiple dwelling housing along with lakefront and hillside communities.  Bellingham is a community experiencing rapid growth.

 

THE SCHOOL

Sehome High School offers a comprehensive four-year curriculum enrolling 1,065 students in grades nine through twelve.  The school opened in 1966 and has maintained and encouraged a rich tradition of academic excellence.  Over 75% of the faculty hold masters degrees; many are leaders in their field and have received local, state and national honors.  Five of the teachers are National Board Certified.  The Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction accredit Sehome.  Sehome also holds membership in the Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling (PNACAC).

 

THE CURRICULUM

Sehome’s academic program is organized around a six-period day.  Sehome uses a modified block schedule where students attend six 55 minute periods three days a week and attend three two-hour periods two days a week.  In addition, students leave at 11:15 on Mondays, once a month, to allow for faculty curricular development.  Ninth, tenth and eleventh graders are required to take six classes.  Twelfth graders are required to take at least five classes, or less with special permission. Sehome is one of two English Language Learner (ELL) designated high schools.

 

A minimum of 23.0 credits is required for graduation:  0.5 credit=1 semester, 1.0 credit=1 year.  2006-2007 graduation requirements include 3.5 credits English; 2.0 credits Mathematics; 2.0 credits Lab Science; 3.0 credits Social Studies; 1.5 credits Physical Education; 0.5 credit Health; 1.0 credit Occupational Education; 1.0 credit Fine Arts; 8.5 credits of electives.  Additional requirements include the completion of a High School and Beyond Plan, a Culminating Project and meeting standard on the English and Writing sections of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

 

Sehome High School provides two curricular choices for students in order to provide the most rigorous curriculum available to prepare students for college.

 

(1) Advanced Placement (AP) is an open-enrollment program.  Courses are offered in AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP English Language, AP English Literature, AP Environmental Science, AP French Language, AP Government & Politics: US, AP Physics B, AP Spanish Language, AP Statistics, AP US History and AP World History.  In 2006-2007, 212 students sat for 381exams.  Of the 381 exams taken, 78% earned scores of 3, 4, or 5.

 

(2) Honors courses are offered in the subject areas of English 10th, Algebra I 301/302, Integrated Geometry Adv., Integrated Algebra II 315/316, Pre-Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, German IV, Advanced Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Jazz Band, and Drama III.

 

College in the High School:  In collaboration with Whatcom Community College (WCC), students enrolled in the following classes may earn college credit:  AP Physics B.

 

Running Start:  This Washington State program allows high school juniors and seniors to enroll in college classes that earn both high school and college credit.  Sehome High School students most commonly attend Whatcom Community College.

 

Tech Prep:  This Washington State program is a technical education alternative to the standard “college prep” sequence of study.  High school juniors and seniors enroll in high school courses that are articulated with community or technical college programs that earn both high school and college credit.  Students enrolled in the following classes may earn college credit:  Stars: Basics in Childcare, Child Development: Theory & Observation, Child Health, Safety and Nutrition, Careers in Education, Advanced Education Internships, Technology Connections, Health Care Services (HCS) I, HCS Anatomy and Physiology, Health Care Services 2Externship, Computer Programming Visual Basic & Advanced Visual Basic, Design Engineering 1, 2 & Advanced, and Web Design I & II.

 

GRADING AND RANKING

Sehome High School assigns letter grades using a 4.0 system.  All credited classes are included in computing grade point average and class rank.  Class rank is computed in February and June using unweighted, final grades in all subjects.

 

TEST STATISTICS

SAT Profile Class of 2007

                                                                        Verbal            Math      Writing

                Sehome HS Average                        571              592              549

                Washington State Average            526              531              510

                National Average                              502              515              494

 

ACT Profile Class of 2007

                                                                        English          Math      Reading     Science      Composite

                Sehome HS Average                       24.3             26.2             25.3             24.4             25.2

                Washington State Average           22.7             23.0             23.7             22.6             23.1

                National Average                             20.7             21.0             21.5             21.0             21.2    

 

National Merit (Class of ’07):   Finalists:  3                        Letters of Commendation:  11

 

COLLEGE ATTENDANCE HISTORY

 

238 students graduated in the Class of 2007.

73% of the class plans to attend college after graduation.  Of that 73%, 27% matriculated to 4-year in-state institutions, 21% matriculated to 4-year out-of-state institutions, and 25% matriculated to 2-year institutions.

 

The following list indicates those institutions attended by the Class of 2007:

 

In State:                                                         Out-of-State:

Bellingham Technical College (9)              Acadia University                                        Sierra College

Central Washington University (2)           Albertson College                                        Southern Oregon University

Clark College                                                 American University                                   Stanford University (2)

Eastern Washington University (3)          Brigham Young University (2)                   Trinity Western University

Gonzaga University (2)                               Colorado Mountain College                       Universal Technical Institute

Northwest University                                  Columbia College                                         University of British Columbia (3)

Northwest Nazarene University                Goucher College                                           University of Buffalo

Seattle University                                        Humboldt State University                         Univ. of California San Diego (2)

The Evergreen State College (3)                Ithaca College                                               Univ. of California Santa Cruz

University of Washington (27)                  Lewis & Clark College (4)                           Univ. of Canada Fraser Valley

Washington State University (9)              Linfield College                                            University of Michigan

Western Washington University (15)      Loyola Marymount University                  University of Montana

Whatcom Community College (44)           Middlebury College                                     University of Oregon (2)

Whitman College                                         Midland College                                           University of Redlands

                                                                        Montana State University (3)                    University of San Francisco (2)

                                                                        Northern Arizona University                     Warren Wilson College

                                                                        San Francisco State University                 Washington Univ. in St. Louis

                                                                        Sarah Lawrence College                              Wyoming Technical Institute