Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 8, Issue 1, January 2004
Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.
Seattle Sun education briefs
Wedgwood Elementary to turn 50
A birthday party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Wedgwood Elementary School will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31, 6:30 p.m. in the school's lunchroom. The event, which is open to all Wedgwood Elementary families and alumni, will include a dinner, live entertainment and a chance to walk down memory lane. For details, call the school at 252-5670 or e-mail Virginia Lenker, Wedgwood Elementary PTA president, at vlenker@qwest.net. The school is located at 2720 NE 85th St. (corner of 30th Avenue NE and NE 85th Street).
Chinn returns to Ballard High
Ballard High School has found an antidote to recent controversies: bringing back a familiar face.
Chuck Chinn, BHS principal from 1990 to 2000, has returned to the top job on an interim basis. He replaces former Principal Method Odoemene, who was removed in early December, based on allegations that he sexually harassed a former vice principal at the school.
Chinn's timing was perfect. He started his new job on Dec. 3, just three days before Ballard was set to play in the state 4A football championship game, making it the first Seattle public school to qualify for a state football final in 15 years (Ingraham won in 1988). The Beavers lost a closely-fought battle to Pasco, 21-14, with Chinn in attendance. "It was a great game," he reports.
Of course, Chinn has a slightly different definition of "retirement" than most people. Since leaving Ballard on June 30, 2000, he has worked as a consultant both for the Seattle School District and the Alliance for Education. He also did a four-month stint as interim principal at Sealth High School.
A 32-year Seattle Schools veteran before his 2000 retirement, the Ballard job was Chinn's first principalship. He previously worked as assistant principal at Roosevelt and Franklin high schools. Chinn will serve as BHS principal until June.
Ironically, there have been two principals at Ballard since Chinn's departure: his replacement, David Engle, resigned in April 2002 to protest an appeals court decision that Seattle could no longer use a racial tie-breaker in its admissions process.
When asked what he's enjoyed most about his return, Chinn replies that it has been "a joy" to meet the new faculty and staff members hired by Engle and Odoemene. "It looks like they're a very fine group of faculty," he says. "I would commend both of my predecessors."
Stanford School honored
The John Stanford International School in Wallingford has been named the winner of an inaugural Goldman Sachs Prize for Excellence in International Education.
The awards program was established this year by the Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Asia Society, with the intention of recognizing innovative programs in international education. It includes prizes in five categories: elementary/middle school, high school, higher education, state, and media/technology. The five prize winners were chosen from a field of more than 300 applications from schools across the country. Each prize includes a $25,000 cash award.
The Stanford School was the top finisher in the elementary/middle school category for demonstrating how dual language immersion at an early age improves student fluency. Its 374 students participate in immersion programs in Japanese or Spanish starting in kindergarten.
The award was accepted by Principal Karen Kodama. The John Stanford International School was opened on the site of the old Latona Elementary School in September 2000.