Tahoma School District

Tahoma School District is a school district based in Maple Valley, Washington, USA. The district provides for citizens in southeast King County and operates 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and the district's sole high school, Tahoma High School. Approximately 8,500 students are served by the district, which covers the entirety of Maple Valley, Ravensdale, and Hobart, portions of Renton, Covington, and Black Diamond, and a significant area of unincorporated King County.^[2] The district is bordered by Enumclaw School District to the south, Snoqualmie Valley School District to the east, Issaquah School District to the north, Renton School District to the northwest, and Kent School District to the west.^[3]

History

The Tahoma School District was founded in 1926 when the Taylor, Hobart, and Maple Valley school districts agreed to merge together. The school district's name is derived from the first two letters of each of the independent school districts that merged together, thus TaHoMa; a nearby peak of Mount Rainier named Mt. Tahoma also influenced the name^[4]. In 1927, the new district constructed a three-story junior-senior high school, TaHoMa High School, in Hobart. The building still stands today; it was renovated in 1977 to become just a junior high school, and in 2004 was renovated once more to become Tahoma Middle School. In 2017, it yet again was renovated and reopened as Tahoma Elementary School^[5].

As the district grew, another secondary school became necessary due to building constraints. A building for 8th and 9th grade students was constructed and opened to 350 students in 1961, near Petrovitsky in northern Maple Valley. It would remain a secondary school until 1977, when it became an elementary school. In the years following that, the school switched between being a secondary or primary school numerous times, due to new schools being built. Throughout the 2000s, it was a middle school, since Shadow Lake Elementary School was just across the street. In 2017, it again became an elementary school, as Cedar River Elementary School.

In the late 1900s, numerous new schools were constructed. The modern-day Glacier Park Elementary School, Lake Wilderness Elementary School, Shadow Lake Elementary School, and Rock Creek Elementary School all were built then, and similar to Cedar River, shifted between grades frequently.

Enrollment continued to grow, and in 1974, a new high school was opened in the western Maple Valley area. The school was originally an open-concept design, without many interior walls separating classrooms. Within a year, the school reverted to a more traditional design, as walls were installed due to teacher dissatisfaction. In 1999, an intensive remodel of the Tahoma Senior High School building commenced, along with construction of a new junior high school, Tahoma Junior High School, for grades 8 and 9, in Ravensdale. Following voter approval of a $10 million, four-year Instructional Technology Levy in 2006, the Tahoma School District outfitted the campus with wireless internet service, Activboard digital whiteboards, and upgraded computer labs^[6].

The building faced struggles with overcrowding throughout the 21st century as Maple Valley experienced rapid growth. The district installed 17 portable classrooms. Tahoma purchased many of these portables for $1 from the neighboring Kent School District. These dilapidated rooms drove voters to approve a $195 million bond in 2015 to build a new high school for the community. ^[7] Ground was broken that year, it was completed in 2017, and it opened for the 2017-2018 school year, returning 9th graders to the high school. The previous Senior High building was converted to Maple View Middle School, and the previous Junior High building was converted to Summit Trail Middle School.^[8]

Schools

Elementary Schools (K-5)

• Glacier Park (Maple Valley)
• Rock Creek (Maple Valley)
• Lake Wilderness (Maple Valley)
• Cedar River (Maple Valley)
• Shadow Lake (Maple Valley)
• Tahoma (Hobart)

Middle Schools (6-8)

• Maple View (Covington)
• Summit Trail (Ravensdale)

High Schools (9-12)

• Tahoma (Maple Valley)

Controversy

In 2013, the school attracted national attention when officials suspended two students who wore Confederate flags in an alleged anti-gay statement.^[9] The students claimed that they were treated unfairly as a peer was allowed to wear a rainbow flag in support of LGBT Pride Month, and that the suspension was a violation of free speech rights.^[10]

On December 9, 2016, the district did not delay or close schools during a major winter storm, opting instead to only use limited bus routes. The decision caused multiple car accidents on 240th Street, the main road leading to the then-high school (now Maple View Middle School), as the road was already in poor condition, and extremely icy and snowy conditions became a major problem for the teenage drivers headed to school.^[11] The King County Sheriff's Office made the decision to temporarily shut down the road, which then caused students in cars and busses alike to be delayed. Superintendent Rob Morrow took blame for the mistake and excused all absences for the day; he retired from his position the following year.

In 2017, a letter sent by Tahoma head football coach and athletic director Tony Davis to a King County judge was uncovered by parents. The letter listed donations that an alleged child molester had made to Tahoma's football program. Many parents took this as a letter of support for the child molester, and since the letter was sent with a Tahoma School District letterhead, the district was accused of also supporting this individual. Davis apologized and stated he did not condone the individual's actions in any way, while Tahoma stated that Davis's views did not reflect those of his employer and the district letterhead should not have been used. Davis was disciplined by the district for the incident. ^[12]

References

External links

• Tahoma School District Website