A New Beginning for Sageview High School
A select group of teachers, staff and students from Pasco High School moved across town 16 years ago to create and establish a new identity and culture. That’s when the Pasco School District opened its second comprehensive high school, Chiawana High. Now, Raquel Martinez is employing a similar strategy, but this time with two schools.
This week, standing on the entryway steps of the new Sageview High School, the school's inaugural principal was eager to show off a video of students from the three schools rallying together at a recent summit. Dressed in shirts repping their Bulldogs, Riverhawks and Lobos mascots, the students shouted in unanimous enthusiasm, "We are Pasco!"
"Honestly, it provides the energy and the hope," Martinez said. The "one-team, one-dream" culture that the district was striving to maintain with the new school was sticking. With less than two weeks before class bells ring, final touches are being made at Sageview. Teachers and staff are still busy moving into their new classrooms at 6091 Burns Road and rearranging desks and furniture—some still wrapped in packaging plastic—to create the best learning environment.
Fowler General Construction handed the keys to school staff earlier this month. Martinez says it's been "organized chaos" since, but everyone is firing on all cylinders to get the building ready. "It literally takes a village to get this building open," said Martinez, noting that parents and booster club members have volunteered their own time to help pull it together in time. "It's coming from a really good place. They all want to see us open with success for the kids in our community. I'm so blessed to have this help."
The ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony for the new school are set for 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 18. The public will hear remarks from school leaders and students, and also be able to participate in guided tours of the 300,000-square-foot building. Pasco freshmen go back to school Tuesday, Aug. 26. Sophomores, juniors and seniors start the next day on Wednesday.
Construction of the $127 million school began in summer 2023. District officials say it will open on time and on budget, welcoming 1,140 freshmen, sophomores and juniors, as well as 100 teachers and staff. A similar event is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday to celebrate the opening of another new school: Orion High School.
The choice college and career academy, at 1901 East Salt Lake Street, will open with freshmen only in the fall but offer students opportunities to earn industry certifications and college credits for high-demand jobs in the health sciences, engineering and manufacturing fields. Voters in 2023 passed a 21-year, $195.5 million capital projects bond to fund the construction of Sageview and Orion. That is the equivalent to an extra 31 cents on every $1,000 of assessed property value.
Martinez, who served six years as Stevens Middle School principal, says she's excited to welcome Lobos to their state-of-the-art high school. "It's been two years in the making and so we're super blessed that the community was able to pass our bond to be able to have this facility for our students," she said.
Staff Excited to Open
Librarian Elizabeth LeCompte was up to her knees all day Tuesday in stacks of boxes filled with new books. Sageview's second-floor library will feature 15,000 titles for students to peruse. "It's fun to kind of be in on the ground floor of starting something new," LeCompte said as she placed stacks of fiction on the shelf wall.
She spent the previous 15 years at Pasco High School. There, LeCompte was involved in a refresh of the entire collection and was the mind behind the school's beloved "Library of Things," which allows students to learn about new hobbies. Deciding Sageview's collection of books has been an exciting endeavor, she said. That process started about a year ago. But supervising the off-loading of pallets from a semi truck at 9 a.m., organizing them and leading a team of a half dozen people in putting them away? Less thrilling. "We'll probably finish tomorrow. Fingers crossed we can finish tomorrow," she said.
LeCompte said she'll miss being a Bulldog—she loves the school. She'll especially miss the students she's bonded with at her book club meetings. But the opportunity to be involved in a new school opening means there's more opportunities to build programs from the ground up and find fun new ways to get students involved in reading and research.
Across the hall, Krystle Luttrell, a former Chiawana teacher, was busy setting up desks and chairs. The pottery and intro-to-arts teacher already had adorned shelves with clay and metal sculptures, and across the room stood a tri-fold advertising the school's new art club. Luttrell says these first days have been filled with lots of wagon trips between the school and her car, and learning how the building works. A room in the back of the class includes three state-of-the-art pottery kilns.
"Just the opportunity to be at a new school and open up a brand-new building? I mean, that's a chance that not everybody gets. Really, for me, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come and really start this program from the ground up," she said. Luttrell says she's excited to meet the first group of Lobos students and see how they shape the school and use opportunities to express themselves.
A Culture of Unity and Respect
Martinez says it's likely they'll make revisions to classroom setups and operations if they see room for improvement, but staff are already set to hit the ground running to welcome students. What's this first school year going to look like? Martinez says it may be an adjustment for many, and might take some time to solidify the new school culture, but students and teachers are coming together with a positive, collaborative mindset.
The school's motto to "Protect the Pack" is about "treating others with respect," she said. It hasn't been challenging yet to bring two school cultures together, and Martinez thinks that's by design. Everyone who's coming to Sageview wants to be part of that novel adventure and build that legacy.