A part of the Seattle Public Schools, Ballard High School was established in 1903, and was named for Captain William Rankin Ballard. It has served the historically Scandinavian community of Ballard, Seattle, USA ever since. The original building was torn down and a modern facility was built during the 1997-1999 school years. During this time, students attended Ballard High School at Abraham Lincoln High School (Seattle). In 2003 their football team managed second in state, and in 2005 their track team also took second in state. The principal at Ballard is alumnus (1976) Phil Brockman. The mission statement of Ballard High School is: "Ballard High School is a nurturing community of learners, where rigorous engagement with knowledge and technology is balanced with respect for personal development, for our common humanity, and for the health of our planet." BHS offers AP courses after the ninth grade level. It also provides or has provided special university prep curricula, including the Maritime Academy, Academy of Finance, and Project-Lead-The-Way (a pre-engineering curriculum), and the Biotech Academy.
Statistics
As of 2005 Ballard High school had an enrollment of 1675 students with a graduating class of 357. Of the 2005 graduates, 82% continued in some sort of higher education. For the 2005 class, Ballard High School had a dropout rate of 7.4%, compared to 21.6% for Seattle Public Schools. During the 2004-2005 school year students taking the SAT averaged a score of 1075. The school theater is named in honor of alumnus and long-time teacher (now retired) Earl Kelly.
Athletics
The girl's swim and dive team took first place in the 400 free relay at state in 2006. The 2006-2007 girls track team, led by seniors Miran McCash and Katherine Groesbeck received several awards for their efforts. The men's track team, led by seniors Patrick Ni and Clayton Anderson also did very well. Anderson won the 800 meter run with a time of 1:57.
Clubs and Organizations
The television production program at Ballard High School, headed by Matt Lawrence, has won numerous national and regional awards since it began in 2002. A student short film, "The Drive-Thru," was featured in the FutureWave division hosted by the Seattle International Film Festival in 2007 and it won the Audience Award for its category. Ballard's television production program hsa many of its students go on to enroll in some of the best film schools in the nation.
