Ballard High School (Seattle)

The first murder ever of a student on Seattle School District property happened in 1994 outside Ballard High School.[4] Then 16-year-old Brian Ronquillo, a student at Shorewood High School, fired a gun eight times into a group of students as a car he was in drove past Ballard High School. Melissa Fernandes, a 16-year-old Ballard student, was shot and killed, although she was not the intended target, a 16-year-old male student was also injured. Ronquillo was sentenced to 51 years in prison for the gang-related shooting and then 19-year old Cesar Sarausad who was the car driver was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison.[5][6]

Ballard High School's Viking Robotics - Team 2928[7] was founded in 2008 by Craig Nielsen. Currently, the team has over 60 member and aims to teach students the values of engineering, and to provide the students with real world experience with the engineering process. Viking Robotics competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FRC is a high school level robotics competition that combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of 25 students or more are challenged to raise funds, hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform in a complex competitions. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. In 2017, Viking Robotics won the FRC World Championship in Houston, becoming the first team from the Pacific Northwest to win the FIRST Championship.[8] Viking Robotics has 5 sub teams that each work on a different aspect of the robot. The Mechanical sub team builds the robot, Electrical is in charge of wiring the robot, programming programs the robot while the Business subteam designs the website, team shirts, summits the awards for competitions, and raises the $150,000 necessary to build, compete, and travel to competitions.[9]

Ballard High maintains three formal academies on campus: Biotechnology Career Academy, Academy of Finance, and Maritime Academy. Each comprises an integrated curriculum across content areas. Students enrolled in these academies are part of the Ballard student population but have chosen to participate in a specific content area of focus.

The Biotechnology Career Academy is a three-year program that links science, language arts, and mathematics as the integrated curriculum. This academy enrolls one starting ninth grade cohort and one tenth grade cohort each year, and has done so since 1997. The science focus begins with biology in the first year, followed by chemistry the second year, and concludes with genetics in the third and final year. Each year, a student project helps prepare students for public speaking, project organization and writing skills.

The Academy of Finance (AOF) integrates class work with interactive projects that prepare students for finance based career positions. AOF specifically aims at the student looking for a future in business, economics or finance or interested in understanding how the economy works. The academy lasts four semesters long with enrollment beginning first semester junior year and ends second semester senior year. The four classes offered are Business Economics (micro-economics), Business in Global Economy (macro-economics), Principles of Finance (personal finance), and Business Ethics. Students in AOF will have access to: A Summer paid internship, Career conferences, UW Foster School of Business mentors, Senior year trip to New York City, Opportunities to network, and develop communication skills.[10]

The Maritime Academy combines classroom experience with field trips that include active learning. Students have acted as crew on the schooner Zodiac and the Virginia V, the only active wooden steamboat on the west coast. The students receive state boater cards. The academy is home to exclusive internships aboard the Virginia V. It is currently the only high school program of its kind in the United States.

Since its beginning in the fall of 2001, students from the BHS Digital Filmmaking Program have won hundreds of awards at regional, state, national, and international film festivals.[11] Based on their portfolios they have won numerous honors from the National YoungArts Foundation and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and have consistently gained admission to prestigious college programs of film and television, sometimes with large scholarships.[12][13] They have been invited to show their work and make presentations at numerous film festivals, media conferences, and art museums. Some of the students have even made history. Jesse Harris (’04) became the youngest person ever to write and direct a feature film that received multi-state theatrical release when his senior project, the film Living Life, opened in Landmark Theaters the April after he graduated.[14] In 2007, Kyle Seago (’07) and Jesse Harris (’04) co-founded the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY).[15] NFFTY has since become the largest youth film festival in the world. The program has provided professional production internships through a variety of media organizations and businesses, as well as a number of feature films. A Professional Advisory Committee supports the program. The Digital Filmmaking Program is open to BHS students in all grades. Students planning to pursue degrees or careers in film/television production, broadcast journalism, art, advertising, media studies, or public relations should enroll no later than their sophomore year to begin to build a portfolio that meets college and industry application requirements. All classes are electives, fulfill either the Fine Art or the Occupational Education requirement, and result in a digital portfolio.[16]

The award-winning Ballard High School Music Department, the most complete high school music program in the city, is proud of its rich musical history. Under the direction of Michael James, Britteny Newel, and Courtney Rowley, the program has gained a reputation throughout the Northwest and beyond for its high level of musical excellence. BHS students have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of music ensembles and experiences, including a full range of offerings in choir, band, orchestra, and jazz. Opportunities include concerts, community performances, parades, festivals, competitions, camps, and group travel. The program fosters an atmosphere which allows all students to grow musically while learning to be team members and develop individual artistry. Over 300 students participate in the music program, and Ballard's music alumni have gone on to attend many of the nation's most prestigious music schools. In 2012, Ballard's advanced jazz ensemble qualified for the first time to participate in the Starbucks Hot Java Cool Jazz performance at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle as well as the Essentially Ellington Jazz Competition in New York City.