Spotlight: Hamilton International Middle School

Middle school is not exactly a time dedicated to the personal development of any sort of global community.



Photo courtesy of Hamilton's website.

There are two people important in the average middle-schoolers life: themselves and that awkward crush. Oozing with pubescent hormones, the halls of any middle school is less a representation of academia and more an adequate example of mating rituals. The only thing missing is flocking of the feathers and loud screeching noises. Oh wait, middle schoolers screech.

Granted it is hard to miss these characteristics in any middle school. When it comes down to it, at the age of 12, 13, 14 hormonal juices are bubbling and the center of the world tends to be skewed. However, Wallingford is host to Seattle Public Schools only International Middle School. An international school you may ask? So, there are students from around the world coming to study in Seattle at a middle school? Not quite. But it is an international school---they must have foreign students from France, Ghana, Spain on a cultural exchange. Nope.

Hamilton International School is a public school hosting normal Seattle students---students who otherwise could have gone to any other public middle school in the district. Although unlike its sister middle schools Meany or Washington, Hamilton provides an education centered around an increasingly shrinking world. This is to say that the global village is now more prevalent than ever.

Hamilton states that its primary mission is to “provide rigorous academic curricula to prepare students for a diverse and technological society so that students will contribute to and succeed in the larger global community.”

The global community is a running theme at this middle school. The core curriculum serves to establish the instruction of a global perspective. According to the Hamilton website, there are three areas of larger focus---global challenges, culture and world areas and global connections (how the United States fits in the larger global community.)

A strong emphasis is also placed on learning global languages. It is required that every student take a language course. Hamilton currently offers Spanish and Japanese--two courses that also include immersion trips in the Fall.



Sound different than your middle school experience? Usually middle school harkens memories of field trips to the science center not Japan. At least for me.

Hamilton serves a diverse student population. According to Seattle Public schools, two-thirds of student are of color. To break this down further, 34% of are Asian descent, 21% African and African American, and roughly 10% Latino.

Not only is Hamilton an international school in respects to education--there is also international education within walls in the hearts and souls of its students.

The school building has been named a Seattle city historic landmark by the Seattle Historic Preservation Program--something that has put Hamilton at the center of a neighborhood controversy. There are plans to build a new gymnasium in the playground area of the school much to the dismay of several community members.

Built approximately 80 years ago the school is need of renovation and the district has finally gotten to it.

There has been a battle waging for years over the construction of the gymnasium and the blocking of views, architecture, a renovated park and more. It is a long story that still does not have a conclusion. Construction begins in July but not if strong-headed residents have their way. They have already submitted yet another proposal for the halting of construction.

To look at the renovation and gymnasium construction plan, click here! What do you think of the gym design? Does it fit in with the historic building?

The following is a picture of the proposed finish product (gymnasium). This is looking to the South. Adjacent to the North Side of the school is Wallingford Playfield---a beloved park in the neighborhood one that some residents are willing to fight for.



Hamilton also has an incredibly active PTSA with a blog. Who ever said blogs weren't the new thing? Even the parents are doing it. Check it out here.

An Introduction: First Impressions!

ABC’s popular dramedy series “Desperate Housewives” chronicles the ups and downs of vivacious middle-age housewives. Tucked away in the foothills of what seems to be sun (what is this?) filled California, the women and their families live blissfully on the streets of Wisteria Lane. The name alone sets the vibe. Think beautiful colonial homes, shutters, primroses trimmed and kept to perfection underneath a custom built tree house, you know, the usual American household--if only.
Now, remove yourself from the clean streets of a fictitious television series and place yourself in a small neighborhood North of Seattle known as Wallingford. This rather small neighborhood to the West of the University District, to the South of Green Lake and to the North of the famed Fremont/Ballard area is home to many of those Wisteria-like families except with a distinct Seattle-twist. Don’t expect Prada and Coach purses or sun for that matter. Wallingfordites, much like most Seattlies, swap these out for Northface and Timbuk2u---much more practical options for the rain and frequent outdoor activity.
Being a native Seattleite, I have grown accustom to the general lifestyle of my fellow natives. Seattle has a very distinct and pronounce culture. Activism. Progression. Politics. The city has it all and the neighborhood of Wallingford is no different. Community and social activism is at its roots and there are mishaps and blunders to prove it.
My first impression of Wallingford, walking through the tree-lined streets and gazing into the elite-urban yet suburban houses, provided a glimpse into the pride of a community based neighborhood. Wallingford’s main drag and arguably its ‘downtown’ is located on 45th Avenue--just a quick jump from The University District perhaps one of the more well-known Seattle neighborhoods. While the U-District may have the juggernaut that is the University of Washington, Wallingford’s suburban getaway is much to be desired.
Janet Strong Stillman, Executive Director of the Wallingford Neighborhood Office and longtime resident of the neighborhood states that Wallingford is a neighborhood of passion. The office brochure mission statement even says it hopes to weave “together the elements of a strong and well informed community.” Strong and well informed is an understatement. From my first moments of information gathering I quickly discovered that Wallingford residents were not the type of people to sit back and let things happen. When it comes to their neighborhood, they want to be involved. A little scary? Not exactly like your neighborhood? Perhaps. If anything, though, this is not unique to the neighborhood. We all know Seattle can become a little ‘heated’ at times. Not by the sun, obviously. Rather, think of the WTO riots of 99. Like the larger community of Seattle, it would seem as if Wallingford residents remain active and despise complacency.
A small example of this came in 2000 when the Quality Food Corporation (QFC) bought out the local Food Giant. However, part of the deal was taking down the sign. No way. This wasn’t going to fly for residents. With community activism and pride, they pushed the owners to include a new ‘Wallingford’ sign---a haling of the tradition that encompasses the city. Today the Wallingford signs stands tall and proud much to the delight as well as dismay of many residents.
The 2000 census indicates that the neighborhood’s approximate age hovers around 33 years old. Wallingford is young, yet studies have indicated that the area is rapidly aging. Like the rest of Seattle, it is one of the more well educated areas with about 43 percent of residents college-educated. It makes sense with the proximity of the UW.

The following is a map of the Wallingford Neighborhood Office:


This is considered to be the Wallingford planning map. While there are no designated boundaries for Seattle neighborhoods, the city council receives funding for this area:


Wallingford has an active community website! Check it out here

Wallingford has an active community council. For more information, check it out here.