Lakeside School's Upper CampusPaul Allen and Bill Gates at Lakeside School in 1970
Lakeside School (abbreviated asLakeside orLS) is anindependent,co-educationalday school located inSeattle,Washington. It enrolls approximately 900 students in grades 5 through 12, and is divided into a Middle School (grades 5-8) and an Upper School (grades 9-12).
Founded in 1919, Lakeside has one of the largest endowments amongindependent schools in the United States, reaching $260 million as of March 2024.[4][5] It launched one of the earliest continuously-operating free summer educational programs in 1965 called the Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program (LEEP), designed to promote diversity by enrolling its first Black students of color.[6] Lakeside offers need-based financial aid to students with family incomes under $250,000. Its list of alumni includesMicrosoft co-foundersBill Gates andPaul Allen,Greenpeace USA executive directorAnnie Leonard, American actorAdam West, Major League Baseball athleteCorbin Carroll, and former Washington governorBooth Gardner.
The Moran-Lakeside School was established as an independentpreparatory school for boys in 1919 by Frank G. Moran on the shores ofLake Washington in the Denny-Blaine neighborhood of Seattle.[7] The school was intended to feed students to Moran's other school, theMoran School on nearbyBainbridge Island.[8] The school was incorporated in 1923 by a group of parents and renamed to Lakeside Day School. It moved a year later to the present site ofThe Bush School inWashington Park.[7]
A site near Northeast 145th Street in northern Seattle was selected in 1929 for a new campus for the Lakeside Day School, which had outgrown the Washington Park campus. Four buildings were constructed, including dormitories for 30 students and arefectory. The campus opened on September 4, 1930; a year later, the school was renamed to the Lakeside School.[7] Additional buildings were opened during the 1930s despite low enrollment and mounting debt during theGreat Depression; several were later named for students who had died during their World War II military service.[7]
Lakeside adopted stricter academic requirements for admissions in the 1950s and launched a zero-fee summer educational program in 1965 withSeattle Public Schools. The first Black students enrolled through the summer program, called the Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program (LEEP). The formalschool uniform was abolished in 1969 by a vote of the student body. By 1971, the boarding program at Lakeside had also ceased.[7] The school became co-educational in a 1971 merger with St. Nicholas School, aCapitol Hill private girls' school.[9] Initially, the Lakeside campus was used by older students from both schools while the St. Nicholas campus was used by younger students. Three new buildings were constructed at Lakeside to complete the full merger.[7][when?]
Lakeside has an average class size of 17 students, and most humanities classes utilize theHarkness method. Classes are graded with a mixture of a standard letter grading system and a 4-point grading system, in which an A is worth 4.3 points and an F is worth 2 points.[10] The school does not offerAdvanced Placement norInternational Baccalaureate courses, stating that their "academic program is designed by our talented educators for our unique student body".[11]
Students who attend Lakeside are required to take courses in English, mathematics, science, history, foreign languages, physical education, health and human development, and the arts. They must also complete a one-week outdoor program and at least 80 hours of community service. Students may independently study subjects in the form of investigations under the supervision of a faculty member.
Lakeside has over 80 official clubs. The school's official newspaper is theTatler, which additionally runsImago, a literary arts publication. Lakeside has affinity groups for various religious, sexual, racial, and ethnic identities, including BSU (Black Student Union), GLOW (Gay Lesbian Or Whatever, agay-straight alliance club), LAPS (Lakeside Asian/Pacific Islander Students), MIXED (Multicultural Initiators EXperiencing and Encouraging Diversity), and LATISPA (a support network for Latin American students).[12] Several of its clubs such as its Chess Team participate in extracurricular competitions and events, includingModel United Nations, Quiz Bowl, Ethics Bowl,Science Bowl,VEX Robotics, andScience Olympiad.
Lakeside's athletic program offers golf, football, soccer, volleyball, crew, wrestling, baseball, basketball, ultimate frisbee, tennis, swimming, diving, cross country, and track and field as well as a strength and conditioning program.[13] In recent years, the boys' swim team won a 3A WIAA state championship in the 2011–2012 season, the 2012–2013 season, and the 2023–2024 season. The 2013-2014 boys' soccer team won the WIAA state championship in the 3A division.[14] The 2014 girls' swim team won the 3A WIAA state championship for the first time in school history, and won the 2015 state championship as well. The 2016 volleyball team won the 3A WIAA state championship for the first time in school history. The 2021 girls' soccer team won the 3A WIAA state championship for the first time since 2003.
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