Who We Are:

ONE Evergreen is a grassroots movement for positive change within the Evergreen High School community in White Center, WA.

• We see ourselves as ONE school, ONE family and ONE community.

• We have come together as ONE voice because we believe that ALL Highline District students should have access to high-quality and equitable educational opportunities.

• We are students, parents, teachers, staff, alumni, community members, community partners, voters and residents of the Evergreen community and we believe our children deserve better.

The Problem:

After more than 50 years, Evergreen High School was closed in 2008 and broken up into three small, autonomous high schools sharing the same campus.  The three small high schools (“small schools”) are named:

• Arts and Academics Academy (AAA)

• Health Sciences and Human Services High School (HS3)

• Technology Engineering and Communications High School (TEC)

In 8th grade, students who live in the Evergreen service area must select a small high school, and are separated from their elementary and middle school classmates, friends, and even family members.  Students are not allowed to step into another small school’s building even though they all study on the same campus.  Each small school only offers core classes and a handful of electives.  For example, Computer Science is only offered at TEC, Fine Arts is only offered at AAA and French is the only language offered at HS3.  However, students are not allowed to take courses in other small schools.

We believe that students and families in the Evergreen community are being dramatically underserved by the small schools model for the following reasons:

• Student segregation: We live in a diverse community, but students are forced to separate themselves (based on career interest) before they arrive.  This has resulted in racial segregation on campus, unequal distribution of resources, and unnecessary competition between students, schools and faculty. Read more…

• No choice: Students who live in the Evergreen service area must attend a small school.  Tax-paying families who are dissatisfied with small schools are forced to compete for ever-dwindling spots in other district comprehensive high schools or pay for private schools.  Families who cannot afford to leave the area are stuck, resulting in disproportionately higher rates of low income and minority students attending small schools. Read More…

• Limited student opportunities: Small schools offer severely limited courses and enrichment opportunities compared to comprehensive high schools in the district--which provide a full menu of core courses, fine arts, drama, music, P.E., foreign language, clubs, extracurricular activities and sports. Read more…

• Large teacher turnover: Small schools claim that their primary advantage over large high schools is the ability to form close interpersonal student/teacher relationships, yet small schools have the highest teacher turnover rate in the district and employ the least experienced teachers. Read more…

The Path Forward:

Small schools has not been the “silver bullet” that has solved educational inequity in our community.  We must take accountability for our shortcomings and foster a collective effort toward excellence for ALL students in the Evergreen community.  Below please find our recommendations for the path forward:

1. Reunite Evergreen High School by school year 2017-18 through an authentic and collaborative planning effort involving students, their families and the community.

2. Develop a new vision for Evergreen High School that offers high-quality comprehensive education to prepare our children for college and careers in a 21st century economy.

3. Build a new, modern school facility with funds from the November 2016 capital bond that will provide Evergreen students with a high-quality learning environment and also serve as an important hub and source of pride for our diverse community.

#OneEvergreen