Lewis and Clark High School is a four-year public secondary school in Spokane, Washington, United States. Opened in 1912, it is located at 521 W. Fourth Ave. in the Cliff/Cannon neighborhood of downtown Spokane, bounded by I-90 to the north and MultiCare Deaconess Hospital to the west. It replaced South Central High School, destroyed by fire in 1910, and was named for the two leaders of the Corps of Discovery.[1]
History and facilities
1883–1908
South Central High School, ca. 1910
Central School, a two-story wooden building, was the first school located on the southwest block at Fourth and Stevens. A four-room school, it opened 141 years ago in October 1883. In 1890, citizens voted bonds to build a new high school and four elementary schools. The old Central school building was moved to the corner of Fifth and Bernard and became a private school. The new high school, first known as "Spokane High School," was constructed on the Fourth and Stevens site and opened in 1891. By 1906, the influx of immigrants and subsequent boom in Spokane's population created a need for a second high school. North Central High School was built and opened in 1908 to serve the students on the north side the river. Spokane High School became known as South Central High School.[3]
South Central Fire
Fire destroyed South Central High School in 1910, shortly after sunrise on June 21.[1][4] The blaze destroyed the interior of the school but left the remains of the exterior walls standing. In January 1911, citizens passed a bond issue of $500,000 to pay for replacement of the school. In a ceremony, former President Teddy Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the school on April 8, 1911.[1] Students attended classes at North Central while work progressed on the new school.[5] Problems in construction and strikes by workers delayed the opening until April 1912. Meanwhile, the Spokane Daily Chronicle encouraged readers to enter a contest to suggest names for the new high school. Richard Hargreaves, the principal of North Central, suggested the names of Lewis and Clark, using one name for each high school, North and South Central. The school board settled for naming the south side school Lewis and Clark High School.[3]
Renovation
2001 classroom addition and new skybridge to the field house. Historic entry to the former administration building is in the foreground. View is looking southeast with S. Stevens Street visible.
Between 1999 and 2001 the school underwent a major renovation and addition. This included addition of new classrooms to the east side of the school, replacement of the former field house with a new E. L. Hunter Field House, and a skybridge over S. Stevens Street to the east to connect the school building to the new field house. In 2020, a third complex with a commons and cafeteria was added with two floors of classrooms, connected to the west side of the main building.[6][7][8]
2001 E.L. Hunter Field House to the east of the historic school building just visible at right. The view is looking southwest.
In 2001, the school was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places and The Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Places.[9]
Expansion
In 2019, work began on a $23.4 million addition to the school, adding eight classrooms, a commons area and a cafeteria.[10] Prior to the construction of the cafeteria, students ate lunch in the hallways or would walk to a cluster of nearby fast food restaurants. This expansion was approved under the same bond that allowed for the replacement of Joe Albi Stadium with a smaller multiuse stadium. [11] With the addition of the commons to the building's western side, students were no longer allowed to leave campus during school hours and were confined to the commons building for lunch time.
Demographics
According to NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) public school data for the 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 school years,[12] 1,872 students attended Lewis and Clark, with 498 enrolled as Freshman, 504 Sophomores, 436 Juniors, and 434 Seniors.[12] 51% of the population was male and 40% of the population was female. White students have the biggest ethnic representation at 66.9% with those of two or more races next at 13.1%, Hispanic then follows 9.7%, Asian at 3.2%, African American at 2.7%, Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander at 2.3%, American Indian/Alaskan Native at 1.0%.[12] As of the 2023-2024 school year, 31.2% of students were eligible for free lunch, with an additional 6.6% eligible for a price-reduced lunch. The 2022-2023 school year saw a dropout rate of 5.1%, an on-time graduation rate of 92.6%, and extended graduation rate of 2.3[13]
Achievements
Newsweek Magazine named Lewis and Clark High School one of the top 1500 US High Schools in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005.
Sports Illustrated named Lewis and Clark High School one of the top 25 high school sports programs in the nation, ranking it 12th in 2007–08.[14]
^Kershner, Jim (June 3, 2007). "Photographic memory". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 1, 2023. Yet Dorpat, it turns out, grew up in Spokane, attended Lewis and Clark High School and graduated from Whitworth College in 1963.
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