History
The original Renton High School was built in March 1911 on land originally owned by the Duwamish Indian Tribe, at a cost of $65,000. The three-story brick building, featuring a bell tower that rang out every half hour, stood on the location of the east wing of the current building. The school stood on wooden pilings, which started to rot when Lake Washington was lowered owing to the building of the ship canal. The timbers cracked and the crowded building sank a few inches during the 1923 graduation ceremonies. It was replaced by a larger school in March 1932. In 1941, the old building was torn down and a new addition built near the current building. The school was remodeled in 1969.
In April 1998, Renton voters approved a levy to renovate the high school. Funds were collected from private donors to expand the project to turn the school's auditorium into a performing arts center, at an estimated additional cost of $1.5 million. The City of Renton appropriated another $400,000 for the project. The naming rights were secured by IKEA for $500,000 and construction began in June 2002. The shared-use facility, known as the Renton Community IKEA Performing Arts Center, was completed in June 2003.
When the school first opened, there were only 43 students: 17 freshmen, 19 sophomores, 3 juniors, and the 4 seniors who made up the first graduating class, in May 1911. By comparison, the largest graduating class, that of 1965, when Renton was still the only high school in the district, comprised 809 seniors.
The nickname "Indians" was adopted in honor of Henry Moses, who from 1916 through 1920 was the school's sole Native American basketball player. Moses was the last chief of the Duwamish tribe, and a great grandnephew of Chief Sealth, for whom Seattle was named. Though the name has become controversial in recent years, Moses' widow and the Duwamish Tribe have asked Renton to retain the name to honor Moses' memory. In response to a 1993 resolution by the Washington State Board of Education asking all school districts to review their mascots and logos, the mascot was modified to depict a Pacific Northwest Indian. The words to the school fight song have been modified to say "let's show 'em" in place of the former "let's scalp 'em".
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