Annie Wright School

Infobox School2
name = Annie Wright School
motto = "...from strength to strength."
established = 1884 by Charles Wright
type = Co-Ed Lower & Middle Schools, All girls Upper School, independent
grades = early Childhood-12
head_name = Head of School
head = Rick Clarke
city = Tacoma
state = Washington
country = USA
students = 420
school_colors = Blue and Gold
mascot = Gators
website = [http://www.aw.org/ aw.org]

Annie Wright School is a preschool-12th grade independent school of about 450 students. It is a co-ed day program through grade 8, and an all-girls day and boarding school in grades 9-12. Central to the school's landscape is a convert|180000|sqft|m2|sing=on, Tudor building situated on a ten-acre campus overlooking Commencement Bay in the north end of Tacoma, Washington.

History

Annie Wright School was founded by railroad tycoon CC Wright in 1884 — nine years before the first paved road in Tacoma — when he and several other Tacoma residents sought a place for their daughters to receive a well-rounded education. The school is named after his daughter Annie Wright. Charles Wright discussed his plans for a girls' school with Henrietta Wells, wife of the Rev'd. Lemuel H. Wells, the rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Tacoma. Henrietta Wells had been the principal of St. Paul's Girls School in Walla Walla; she and her husband had founded several early Northwest academies and schools, and were experienced educators. Henrietta Wells made several suggestions and modifications to Wright's plans, and she became the first principal of Annie Wright Seminary. The current head of school is Rick Clarke.

Lower School

The Annie Wright School lower school is a coed day school, grades P-K to 5th. It boasts low classroom size, a variety of enrichment programs, and a cutting edge but solid and focused curriculum. The reading buddy program is a recently instituted attempt at achieving unity through the upper and lower schools.

Middle School

The Annie Wright Middle School is a coed day school of grades 6-8.

Upper School

The Upper School is an all-girls day and boarding school. Slightly less than half the population are boarding students. The other half live in Tacoma or commute from surrounding areas.

The school has alumni from 45 countries. In addition, Upper School students have the opportunity to participate in annual exchange programs to Japan and China, as well as hosting students from those countries on campus in the spring. About a third of the Upper School is composed of international students, primarily from Taiwan, China and Korea but also from Eastern Europe and East Africa. Recent students have hailed from countries as far flung as Rwanda, Lithuania, Vietnam, Bolivia, and India. The Upper School also includes a small contingent of domestic boarders, generally girls from rural Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and California, but often reaching as far as Texas and New York.

The school is not currently full to capacity, with 120 students enrolled, there are currently spots in the rising ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade classes.

The current Director of Upper School is Susan Bauska, who has worked at AWS for more than 20 years. The Assistant Director of Upper School is Jake Guadnola, an alumnus of the Lower and Middle Schools and Harvard graduate. Department heads include Diane Soucey (Social Studies), a beloved maverick teacher who has taught at Annie Wright for more than 30 years, Jim Timson (Science), and Zachary Hansen (English).

The school is in the process of becoming IB (International Baccalaureate) accredited.

Athletics

The Upper School fields competitive teams in soccer, volleyball, cross country, basketball, crew, track, tennis and golf. Girls wishing to ride, swim, play waterpolo, or participate in other sports can do so at the closest high school offering a team. Annie Wright currently has the state 1A championship in womens singles tennis and the state 1A championship in 400 meters womens track and Volleyball went to state two years in a row (2006 and 2007)

Drama

The School also offers a drama program in its Kemper Center Auditorium. It is run by the Director of Theatre, Marilyn Bennett. The program mounts three dramatic productions each year and offers a wide range of opportunities to learn the elements of stagecraft, as well as acting.

Notable alumni

*Mary McCarthy, 1912-1989
*Betty Garrett (actress), 1919-

External links

* [http://www.aw.org/ Annie Wright School website]