Interlake High School - Demographics and Special Programs

Demographics and Special Programs

As of the 2010–2011 school year, Interlake has approximately 1,420 students, the largest enrollment since the 1980s. Interlake's class sizes have grown larger and larger in recent years, beginning with the 250-student freshman body of 2006.

Interlake's students include a large variety of races, ethnicities, religions, ideals, and backgrounds. 51% of students are white, 29% are Asian, 9% are Hispanic, 8% are multiracial, and 3% are African-American. Many student organizations have been created to group people of different backgrounds, including the Jewish Student Union, Campus Christian (originally known as "The Reach" or simply "Bible Club"), Gay-Straight Alliance, Black Student Union, Ginger Club (for redheads), Islamic Cultural Awareness Club, French Club, and ELITES (Estudiantes Latinos Internacionales Trabajando por una Educacion Superior).

More than a third of students speak a first language other than English, and many more are multilingual. Widely known languages at IHS include Chinese, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Hindi, and Russian. Interlake requires two language credits and offers tuition in French, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. It also has an extensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program that allows students arriving from foreign countries to learn English as a secondary language.

Another special program at Interlake is its Center program for Special Education. Students with disabilities from all over the district, age 14 to 21, come to Interlake to experience a typical school day adjusted to their individual needs. Interlake's Center program has five classes, including Self-Contained (for the students who are best suited to staying in a primarily Special Ed environment), several classes of students who spend part of their day in the building referred to as the Apartment and part of it in mainstream IHS classes, and the Transition program. The Transition program teaches 18- to 21-year-olds work, interaction, and life skills to prepare them for later life; the students go out and work in different jobs for most of the day to pactice these skills. A unique feature to Interlake's Center program is that mainstream students can sign up to help out in the Center for a period in their schedule.