School History

It should come as no surprise that a school like Westside, committed to child-centered education, began with a group of parents determined to find the very best schooling for their own children.

After meeting through South Seattle Community College ’s highly regarded cooperative preschool program, the parents began a search in the spring of 1981 for a West Seattle kindergarten that would provide a positive, esteem-building curriculum, involving their children in the learning process. Unable to find such a program, they discussed their concerns with S.S.C.C. parent education instructor, Alice Howell, who suggested they start their own kindergarten. As none of the parents would take on the responsibility, she agreed to start the school, if parents would help, and became the director on a part time basis while still being employed as a part-time parent education instructor. She assembled a group to become the board of directors, then had the Articles of Incorporation for Westside School filed by July 24, 1981 . Space was found in an Admiral-area church and the school opened in September 1981 with eleven kindergarten students.

The board members were a banker, a business owner, two Westside school parents, a Seattle Public school teacher, a community college administrator, and the founder of the school, Alice Howell. Ten years later, raising funds through an annual auction, the school had expanded significantly. It needed more space, a commodity hard to come by in booming West Seattle . After an interim move to another church, the administration and board began negotiations in 1993 with the Highline School District , resulting in relocation to its present home in the former North Shorewood School on 28th Avenue SW.

Throughout the 90s, Westside School continued expanding – in auction fundraising, in numbers of students and teachers and in numbers of classes – but never in numbers of students-per-class. From the beginning, small class-size was valued as one of the best enablers of superior teaching and enthusiastic learning.

As part of the long-range plan, in 1995 the school applied for and received accreditation from the prestigious Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools. By 1996-97, Westside had attained its long-range goal of expansion through fifth grade. During the 1998-1999 school year, Westside established the self-contained Early Childhood Education Center on campus. The Board of Directors adopted a new Strategic Plan for Westside School in 2005 to keep the school growing and vibrant, so that graduates will continue to succeed in the area’s best middle school programs.

The expanded curriculum includes not only the all-important basics, but extraordinary enrichment opportunities, such as Spanish, Chinese, art, music, physical education, and field trips. The history that began in 1981 is still being written, every day, by every child, parent and teacher at Westside School .