“Estacada High
School: Where Learning Comes First!” is our mission as we continue our
journey away from “teaching” towards a focus on “learning.” To support
this movement we have become a leader in proficiency based learning and
our grading/assessment system is 100% proficiency based. In addition, we
have changed our weekly schedule to include time, within the schedule
day, for enrichment, re-assessing, and re-teaching to assist students in
their “learning” journey.
We expect ALL
students to grow and improve in academic achievement. In addition, we
ask each student to dedicate hours of community service before they
graduate in an attempt to make a difference in our local, regional, and
world communities.
Even though our
greater community’s economic indicators lag below the county average
our students have been able to score well above the State average in
Math, Reading, and Science achievement levels. In addition, we have
experienced six years of continuous improvement and have outscored a
number of our local districts with more favorable demographic data.
We are far from
achieving our goal of having EVERY student graduate from Estacada High
School career and/or college ready. We will continue to develop our
system until we can meet this goal and ensure that every student’s needs
are met and each student will reach his/her full potential.
As we progress
we have put in place a plan to assist us in increasing our student
writing and our graduation rates for ALL subgroups and students. In
addition, we plan to continue planning and providing resources to
maintain a comprehensive high school and maintain a full complement of
electives in Career Technical Education, the Fine Arts, and in core
subject areas. Our staff will continue to focus on meeting the needs of
individual students and moving ALL students towards mastery/proficiency
of all essential learning targets.
Even though our
goal is to graduate every student at Estacada High School career and
college ready within four years, we are also committed to the idea that
“learning is the constant and time is the variable” keeping in line with
our “Learning First” approach. With this in mind we place a premium on
preparing ALL students to meet and exceed all proficiency levels in all
courses, regardless of the time it takes to complete this task. We will
not give up on a student if they need “more time” to learn what we
expect from all students.
Estacada High School marks a proud and deep tradition
with its beginnings in 1905 when 9th and 10th grade classes were first
taught in the Estacada Grade School, a small 20 by 30 foot building on
the west side of Main Street and across from the site of the current
elementary building.
The first Estacada High School graduating class of
1910 consisted of one (1) graduate. High school age students continued
to be taught in the grade school, moving into a new grade school that
was constructed in 1906 and added on to in 1908 with a duplicate
structure, both on the site of the current Estacada Grade School.
In 1917, high school aged students moved to a new
school, the first Estacada High School, which was built behind the
1906-1908 buildings.
Estacada High School students continued to attend
school at this site until the fall of 1936 when, at the end of the first
semester, students moved into the newly constructed Estacada High
School, the building known today as the Estacada Junior High. During
this time, graduating classes varied in size from 25 to 44 students.
In the fall of 1961, the current High School was
opened and accommodated a senior class that had grown in number to 80.
The entire 9-12 grade enrollment had reached 394.
Since its construction and major remodel in 1981,
Estacada High School has undergone many changes. Currently there are
approx 750 students enrolled.