Highline Public Schools (HPS) is a public school district in King County, headquartered in Burien, Washington. As of October 2007, it served 17,331 students and had 997 teachers, and served the cities of Burien, much of Des Moines, Normandy Park, and SeaTac as well as adjacent unincorporated census-designated places proximal to Burien in King County such as White Center and much of Boulevard Park. Portions of Kent and Tukwila and a very small portion of Seattle are in the district limits.

Structure

Highline consists of four main "service areas", Evergreen (the area around White Center), Highline (in Burien), Mount Rainier (mainly Des Moines, but includes parts of Burien), and Tyee (SeaTac), which once represented the district's four high schools. Students in the Highline and Mount Rainier service areas generally attend the area's high school; students in the Evergreen and Tyee service areas attend one of the service area's three small schools. Each service area also contains one middle school which acts as a feeder to the area's high school(s). The four service areas are further divided into separate areas corresponding to the district's elementary schools, which also act as feeders to the area's middle school. The district's current superintendent is Dr. Ivan Duran. The school board consists of five members: Joe Van (Board President), Angelica Alvarez (Vice President), Aaron Garcia, Carrie Howell, and Azeb Hagos.

History

The district's first school, Highline High School, opened in 1924 in Burien. Evergreen High School (just east of Seattle's Arbor Heights neighborhood), Glacier High School, Mount Rainier High School (in Des Moines), and Tyee High School (in SeaTac) were added at later times to compensate for the district's growing population. During the 1970s, enrollment in the district declined due to the impacts of the Boeing Bust, The Port of Seattle acquiring neighborhoods due to increases in jet noise from Sea-Tac Airport, and levy failures. Between 1975 and 1980, one high school, five junior high schools, and fourteen elementary schools were closed. In 1980, the remaining junior high schools were converted into middle schools. In the mid-2000s, Highline commenced a major effort to reverse its schools' declining performance. The most significant aspect of this effort was the conversion of Evergreen and Tyee into three small schools each. Highline and Mount Rainier underwent similar programs, however each remains a single comprehensive high school. In the same time frame, Aviation High School and Highline Big Picture, two specialized schools, opened.

Schools

High schools

Zoned

Middle schools

Junior high schools

Elementary schools

Other facilities