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Tahoma High School
Address
23499 Southeast Tahoma Way Maple Valley, King County, Washington 98038 United States
Coordinates	47°21′28.531″N 122°01′20.255″W / 47.35792528°N 122.02229306°W / 47.35792528; -122.02229306
Information
Type	public high school
Motto	Future Ready
Established	1927
School district	Tahoma School District No. 409
Principal	Judy Beliveau
Staff	124.02 (FTE)
Faculty	126
Grades	9 to 12
Age range	14 to 21
Enrollment	2,890 (2023–24)
Student to teacher ratio	23.10
Language	82% English
Campus	Large Suburb
Color(s)	Royal Blue and Gold
Mascot	Tahoma Bears
Nickname	Bears
Accreditation	accredited through the state of Washington
Publication	Bear Bytes
Newspaper	Tahoma News
Affiliation	Tahoma School District
Website	tahomahighschool.tahomasd.us

Tahoma High School (THS), formerly Tahoma Senior High School (TSHS), is a public high school serving grades nine through twelve and is the only high school in the Tahoma School District. The school provides for citizens in southeast King County, and has been housed in multiple buildings, the current one being a three-story structure in Maple Valley built in 2017.

Overview

Tahoma High School is a suburban campus located near the intersection of two major state routes, Maple Valley Highway (SR 169) and Kent-Kangley Road (SR 516). It is close to Maple Valley Town Square, colloquially known as Four Corners, a major retail area of Maple Valley located at the intersection.

Tahoma High School serves the entirety of Maple Valley and Hobart, portions of Renton, Covington, Ravensdale, and Black Diamond, and a significant area of unincorporated King County. The school is bordered by Enumclaw Senior High School to the south, Mt. Si High School to the east, Liberty High School to the north, Hazen High School to the northwest, and Kentlake High School to the west.

History

The first large public school building in the Maple Valley area to serve secondary students was the Maple Valley Grade School, which opened in 1920 and housed grades one through twelve. In 1926, the Taylor, Hobart, and Maple Valley school districts merged to create a cooperative high school district and purchased a parcel of property for the construction of a dedicated local secondary school. This school, known as TaHoMa High School, opened in 1927 and held both junior and senior high students of the area for many years. After several remodels, this first TaHoMa High School building became Tahoma Middle School.

A new building opened in 1974 as an open concept high school, while the previous building remained as the district's junior high. The open concept design proved unsatisfactory to the faculty at the time, and temporary walls were constructed early in the school building's life. In 1999, an intensive remodel of the Tahoma Senior High School building commenced. 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.

The building faced struggles with overcrowding throughout the 21st century as Maple Valley experienced rapid growth. The district installed 17 portable classrooms, many of which were purchased for $1 from the neighboring Kent School District. These dilapidated rooms helped to drive voters to approve a $195 million bond in 2015 to build a new high school for the community. Ground was broken in June 2015, it was completed in July 2017, and it opened for the 2017–2018 school year. The previous Senior High building was converted to Maple View Middle School, while the first district high school building was converted to Tahoma Elementary School.

Academics

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction reported the school's graduation rate as 90.5% for the 2022–23 school year, while the statewide graduation rate was reported as 83.6%.

The school offers a variety of tech prep, honors, Advanced Placement, and "College in the High School" courses from the University of Washington, Central Washington University, and Eastern Washington University, in addition to the district's school board-approved curriculum. A Running Start program is available through the nearby Green River College campus in Auburn. Tahoma High School's Outdoor Academy program, which integrates Health and Fitness, Science, and Language Arts, has received recognition statewide for its work in changing the concept of Physical Education.

Tahoma also participates in the annual We The People civics competition, led by teacher Gretchen Wulfing. The team has won the Washington state championship every year since 2013, subsequently attending competitions in Washington, D.C., and placing in the top 10 teams nationwide in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2022.

Tahoma also houses the FIRST Robotics Competition team, Bear Metal, who has been historically successful since its founding in 2007.

About the school

Tahoma high school is diverse in culture and language among its student population. The enrollment rate of minorities are 34%, which is almost all students that are enrolled and 19% of those students are economically disadvantaged. This school has an average of 2,890 students enrolled every year. Tahoma is also ranked 49th out of 300 in Washington State. As other high schools, Tahoma provides students with Advanced Placement exams for students who wants to challenge themself and be prepared for college while they're in High school.

Enrollment

Race/Ethnicity

In 2023–2024, Tahoma's enrollment number is 2,890. In detail, out of the 2,890 students, 11 (0.38%) were American Indian/Alaska Natives, 285 (9.86%) were Asian, 105 (3.63%) were Black/African American, 349 (12.08%) were Hispanic or Latino of any race(s), 16 (0.55%) were Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, 256 (8.86%) were Two or More Races, and 1,868 (64.64%) were White.

Athletics

THS has been a part of the Cascade Division of the North Puget Sound League since the 2016–17 school year. They were previously members of the South Puget Sound League.

Tahoma students participate in the following sports and athletic activities:

• Fall Sports: Boys' Tennis, Cross Country, Football, Girls' Soccer, Girls' Swim and Dive, Golf, and Volleyball.
• Winter Sports: Boys' Basketball, Boys' Swim, Dance, Girls' Basketball, Gymnastics, and Wrestling.
• Spring Sports: Baseball, Boys' Soccer, Fast Pitch, Girls' Tennis, and Track.

Tahoma Orienteering Club, the school's orienteering team, has also seen national success.

Notable alumni

• Zan Fiskum – singer/songwriter
• Brandi Carlile – singer/songwriter
• Omare Lowe – NFL football player
• Jens Pulver – mixed martial arts fighter
• Tayler Saucedo – MLB pitcher
• UMI – singer/songwriter

References

1. ^ "Tahoma Senior High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
2. ^ "Tahoma Senior High School, Tahoma School District". reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us. Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
3. "Tahoma High School". Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
4. "Tahoma Senior High School Maple Valley, WA 98038". www.washington.hometownlocator.com. Washington HomeTownLocator. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
5. "Washington State K-12 School Districts" (PDF). www.ospi.k12.wa.us. Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
6. Tahoma School District. (2004). Tahoma Middle School Dedication . Maple Valley, WA: Kevin Patterson.
7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. voteyestahoma.com/frequently-asked-qs/
9. "Groundbreaking set for June 5 - Tahoma High School". www.covingtonreporter.com. Covington Reporter. April 17, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
10. "Phys-ed Classes Changing Course". www.seattletimes.com. The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
11. "Tahoma High teacher Gretchen Wulfing named state Civics Educator of the Year". www.covingtonreporter.com. Covington Reporter. March 2, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
12. "We the People : Center for Civic Education". www.civiced-wa.org. We The People. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
13. "Bear Metal - Team 2046". www.thebluealliance.com. The Blue Alliance. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
14. "Tahoma Senior High School". www.usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
15. "North Puget Sound League reforms after 26-year hiatus". www.kentreporter.com. Kent Reporter. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
16. "Results". www.cascadeoc.org. Cascade Orienteering Club. February 12, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
17. "What's in the water in Maple Valley? 'The Voice' contestant Zan Fiskum follows in musical footsteps of Brandi Carlile and Benicio Bryant". www.seattletimes.com. The Seattle Times. May 4, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
18. Scanlon, Tom (January 20, 2005). "Brandi Carlile: ready for her breakthrough". www.seattletimes.com. The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
19. Walker, Erick (August 18, 2008). "Seahawk Omare Lowe is back home with new team". www.covingtonreporter.com. Covington Reporter. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
20. Walker, Erick (February 20, 2007). "World champ's life has been a fight for survival". www.seattletimes.com. The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
21. Hill, Kris (June 22, 2011). "From winless to king of the hill : Covington/Maple Valley Male Pre Athlete of the Year : Tayler Saucedo". www.covingtonreporter.com. Covington Reporter. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
22. Cotterill, TJ (April 21, 2016). "Tahoma's 4x100 relay team, Olympic-hopeful Princess Joy Griffey are fast company". www.thenewstribune.com. The News Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2021.

External links

• Tahoma High School
• Tahoma School District #409

• High schools in King County, Washington
• Public high schools in Washington (state)