Shorewood High School (Washington) - Facility and History

Facility and History

Shorewood High School, built in 1975, is a large high school that spans 5 city blocks. Shorewood has eight single floor buildings with open corridors outside.

Shorewood High School was built in sections. The 100’s building, closest to 175th, in Shorewood, was originally Ronald Grade School built in 1906 and closed 1971. This closure was due to a failed levy that sent the Shoreline district into debt after 300 Shoreline residents and parents were laid off from Boeing. The building was then used as a museum until 2010.

Along with the elementary school being closed, five other schools were closed, including Butler Junior High School, an older school originally built in 1953 and closed in 1973 to be rebuilt and become the main campus for the new High School named Shorewood. The students still in 7th or 8th grade at the time of the closure were sent to either Einstein Junior High School, or Cordell Hull Junior High School, with a few going to Kellogg Junior High School. None of these schools were "middle" schools at that time. Shorewood was to be the first 4 year high school. Upon its opening, only the 9th and 10th graders were brought in. That 10th grade class remained the eldest class at Shorewood until their graduation in the summer of 1978. It was a unique situation for that one class of students as they never had to face upperclassmen. During this transition period for the district, all of the remaining junior high schools became middle schools.

Many of the last class of 7th grade students to enter Butler Junior High School were in the very first graduating class through Shorewood High School in 1978.

Since Shorewood High school’s original completion in 1975, the school has had one renovation in 1997 costing 6.5 million dollars.

In 2011 the school district approved plans to replace the school building with a new facility on the same site. The historic Ronald School is to be incorporated into the design as part of the school and the remainder of the existing buildings are to be demolished. The renovation and incorporation of the landmarked building was approved by the Association of King County Historical Organizations. The ground-breaking for ceremony for the new construction was held on October 17, 2011 and the school is scheduled to open for the 2013-14 school year.

A historic tradition at Shorewood High is the naming of the freshman class every year by the seniors. According to the November 9, 2011 publication of the 'Kolus', the tradition started in '86.