Estacada High School

“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.

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.