In 1978, in a little coffee shop in Redmond, Washington, three friends who also happened to be teachers, Paul Raymond, Ellen Taussig, and Mark Terry, were talking about what they felt was lacking in education. Suddenly, Mark said, “Hey, what about starting their own school?” They all looked at one another, sketched out some plans on a napkin, and within a few short weeks they had filed papers as the essential three-member board of a nonprofit organization.

The Northwest School opened its doors in the fall of 1980 to 230 students. It was a 6-12 school, just as it is today, and was centered on the belief that to create a great school you must first hire a great faculty. The following spring, its first ten graduates received their diplomas. Over the next 35 years the school added an international boarding program and doubled the size of its student body. Today, they enroll 500 students, 80 of whom are from countries other than the United States.

While their community of students and faculty make the school what it is, the buildings in which they learn and teach are a meaningful part of their culture. The school’s original building, known as the Summit School building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and has been designated an official City of Seattle historic landmark. Another wing to the Summit School building was completed in 2006, housing the Library, Computer Lab, Photography Studio, Music Studio, Dance Studio and two multi-use classrooms. In 2011, they purchased the nearby wedge-shaped building that serves as their dormitory, and in 2014, they opened the doors to the school’s newest addition