Hale students score well on the test -- and score free burgers from principal

Thursday, November 2, 2000

By LEAH KOHLENBERG
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

There's probably some rule at Nathan Hale High School prohibiting the exchange of money for higher test scores.

But no one said anything about french fries -- particularly when the principal is buying.

Yesterday, 68 Hale juniors marched with a full police escort and the high school band from the school grounds in northeast Seattle to Dick's Drive-In in Lake City.

Academic achievement was a traffic stopper yesterday on Lake City Way as 68 students of Nathan Hale High School were escorted by the school band to a free meal at Dick's Drive-In. Paul Joseph Brown/P-I

The occasion? Principal Eric Benson made good on a promise of a free lunch to students who met standards on all four sections of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning last spring.

Waving banners sporting statements such as "I WASL'D Well" and "I'm a Raider, I'm Proud, and I Passed the WASL," students held up traffic as they walked down the middle of Lake City Way on their 1 1/2-mile trip.

The band serenaded the high-scoring group -- as well as other regular Dick's customers and employees -- with a spirited rendition of Al Jarreau's "Boogie Down" as they waited in line for burgers, fries and drinks.

"It was embarrassing," admitted 17-year-old Lindsay Sykes, sitting on a curb in the parking lot and eating fries.

"But it was fun, too, to see the reactions of all the people as we walked along. Some were waving and cheering," added her friend, 16-year-old Yahui Li.

The WASL tests students in reading, writing, math and listening. The exam has been required for fourth-graders since 1999 and will be required for seventh- and 10th-graders next spring. In preparation, many schools have taken the seventh- and 10th-grade tests voluntarily.

The idea for the parade and lunch originally came from a teacher, says Benson, who flippantly promised that he would buy lunch for all students who "passed the test."

The lunch, which included feeding band members, set Benson back about $100. Dick's Drive-In kicked in about $120. Another $250 was contributed by a school trust fund that uses donated money to recognize good student work.

The offer isn't a one-shot deal, either. Benson says he'll do lunch with the students who meet standards on the WASL every year.

"Willingly, gladly, I'll do it again," he said.

The percentage of Hale 10th-grade students (27.4) who met the standard on all four WASL sections wasn't the highest in city. Both Garfield and Roosevelt high schools did better, at 35.7 and 30.4 percent, respectively.

And the top Seattle schools trailed more than a dozen suburban schools, including most or all high schools in the Bellevue, Lake Washington, Northshore, Issaquah and Mercer Island districts.

Alonso Alvarado, an 11th-grader at Nathan Hale, tastes success along with others treated to burgers and fries for passing the state WASL tests last spring. Paul Joseph Brown/P-I

But Hale improved dramatically on all parts of the test compared with the previous year.

And, certainly, Benson has offered his students the best deal in town. Most reported they didn't take his words seriously, and that visions of fries -- even Dick's fries -- dancing in their heads didn't affect their testing performance one way or the other.

But it still felt good to be appreciated, 17-year-old Anton Cao said.

"I think it's great, because it shows everybody that there are people working hard, and who are intelligent, in the schools today."

And Alexandra Toner, 17, says it's a particularly appropriate reward because she missed four lunch periods to go over her tests before turning them in.

"It was a very hard test," she said. "I didn't even think I'd passed."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P-I reporter Leah Kohlenberg can be reached at leahkohlenberg@seattle-pi.com

Back to In The News Page