Thorp School District

Thorp School District is a school district based in Thorp, Kittitas County, Washington. It provides fully accredited academic, athletic and award-winning extracurricular.

Thorp School District No. 400 is located at 10831 Thorp Highway in Thorp. providing programs for all grades K-12, as well as a pre-school program.^[2]

Early days

When District No. 9 of Yakima County (Kittitas County was not separated from Yakima County until 1884) was formed, those who petitioned for its creation would have had no way of knowing that they were part of creating the foundation of the Thorp School District, the first public school system in what is now Kittitas County. In July 1873, a letter was sent by W. H. Crockett, on behalf of the local populace around the site of present-day Thorp, to the Yakima County Superintendent of Schools requesting the formation of a school district.^[3] From the letters that would follow, it appears that the new district was approved, but almost immediately a group of residents were petitioning to split-off the southern portion of the district.^[3][4]

A petition to divide Thorp School District No. 9 was received by the Yakima County school superintendent’s office on January 11, 1875.^[3][4] Twelve members of Pleasant Grove community, southwest of the current town site of Thorp, asked that the superintendent grant them permission to separate from the Thorp School District.^[4]

The boundaries that would separate the southern section of District No. 9 from its northern neighbor were a point of contention for the next five years. The confusion was settled in January 1880, when Yakima County School Superintendent George W. Parrish, granted the formation of District No. 10 which encompassed the area around Splawn School on Taneum Creek. The formerly southern section of the district around the town site of Thorp reverted to the original District No. 9. It is not entirely clear where classes were conducted during the subsequent decade, however in 1885, then 7-year-old Glen Mason arrived in the Thorp area and recalled that school for District No. 9 was held in a one-room log school on the ranch of Jim McCollough in the upper valley.^[4]

On November 7, 1887, District No. 9 purchased a one-acre parcel of land from William Andrew Forgey near the present-day intersection of Sisters Road (then an extension of Goodwin Road before Interstate 90 cut it off from the town) and Thorp Cemetery Road, and by 1891 a school house had been built there which became known as the Mills School. Constructed of finely fitted and painted shiplap siding, the building was 24-feet wide and 36-feet long with 14-foot high ceilings, making it stand apart from the log school houses that were common in the area.^[4][5]

When the town of Thorp was officially platted around the Northern Pacific Railroad depot in 1895, residents of Thorp School District No. 9 voted to move the Mills School building a half-mile down Goodwin Road to the newly formed town. The idea of moving the school house, however, was rejected by those who lived in closer proximity to it and a dispute followed. In order to prevent the school house from being moved, the residents around Mills School formed Goodwin School District No. 46, cutting off the town from a school house. The town of Thorp and District No. 9 would go without a proper school house for several more years.^[4]

A proper schoolhouse

Not to be thwarted by their adversaries in the upper valley, sometime in 1895 the people of the town of Thorp devised a scheme to move the school down the road to the town site. One night, the men of Thorp secretly entered the Mills School and absconded with the school equipment and necessary accoutrements, transferring them to a room above the dance hall in the town—from that day forward, school has been held at Thorp. When the community built its church, classes moved from the dance hall to the church.^[6]

Then in the spring of 1900, just months before a fresh enrollment of 99 students were to arrive at its doors, the first Thorp school house was completed. Located just a few blocks west of the train depot at the current location of Thorp High School, it was a one-story, two-room structure with a footprint of 46-feet by 50-feet.^[4][7]

In 1904, Goodwin District No. 46, which had split with the Thorp district just eight years earlier, was reunified with it to form Thorp School District No. 27, becoming the first consolidated school district in Kittitas County.^[4][8]

In 1912, the original two-room school house was moved back a few yards, and a new two-story school house added on to the front of it by John Newman and Glen Mason.^[4][9] The building had a capacity of 200,^[4] utilizing the old school house which was attached to it in the back, as a gymnasium and classrooms for mechanical arts and home economics.^[10] During the early years there were eight grades and three years of high school, but only two years were accredited. The first day of school in this building was September 12, 1912. The first principal was Amos Foster.^[11]

Over the next 26 years, the Thorp School District would continue to absorb the smaller rural school districts that surrounded it. In 1917, Thorp School District No. 27 consolidated with Splawn School District and became Thorp School District No. 45. In 1929, the district again consolidated, adding nearly 60 students to its enrollment, to become Thorp School District No. 102.^[4] Finally, in 1942, Thorp Prairie School District No. 29 was consolidated with District No. 102, forming the present boundaries of Thorp School District No. 400.^[12][13][14]

Thorp Grade School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Thorp Grade School (Photo 2009)
Location	Thorp, Washington
Built	1936
Architect	John W. Maloney
Architectural style	Colonial Revival
NRHP Reference #	09000541
Designated NRHP	July 16, 2009

Pride of the community

By 1932, the district’s enrollment had exceeded the seating capacity of the Thorp school house, and with the town benefitting from an influx of workers from the Highline Canal project and logging operations at Taneum Canyon, plans were drawn up in 1935, for a new brick elementary school to be located next to the existing school house at Thorp.^[4] Built in 1936, at a cost of $41,000 during the depths of the Great Depression and partially funded by the WPA, the new elementary school became known as Thorp Grade School.^[15][16] One of the earliest celebrations to be held in the new gymnasium at the school was an Armistice Day program on November 11, 1936, which was led by the district's beloved longtime superintendent Victor Karlson.^[4]

Thorp Grade School still stands today, and has been used continuously by the district since its construction. A finely crafted red brick Colonial Revival structure, it was designed by noted architect John W. Maloney. After the construction of the grade school, the old school house continued to serve the district as Thorp High School until 1957, when it was razed to make way for a one-story, modern cinderblock structure in the same location. The new Thorp High School was opened in 1958.^[9]

The district was twice considered for consolidation with the nearby Ellensburg School District, first in 1944, and again in 1983. In both cases, a small but vocal group of consolidation proponents were defeated by a massive and well-organized opposition of community leaders and concerned citizens. In the first instance, out of four hearings on the subject only one vote was cast for consolidation with hundreds opposing it.^[17] In the second instance, after months of public campaigning by merger supporters accompanied by an intense debate among voters and community members, the question of consolidation was brought before the seven-member Kittitas County Committee on School District Organization. At the conclusion of a 4-hour public hearing on the evening of March 1, 1983, before an overwhelmingly anti-consolidation, standing-room-only crowd at the Thorp High School gymnasium, the committee voted unanimously to reject consolidation of the district.^[18][19]

Voters in the district approved a $1.4 million bond measure for school construction on February 7, 1989, by a margin of nearly 80 percent. The 20-year bond was matched by $927,000 in state funds to renovate and expand the 1958 school building. The building, which was billed as the "first high-tech school in the county," included the addition of ten new classrooms, a library, a gymnasium with seating for 450 people, a computer lab, a student commons area, a music/band room with sound-proof folding doors that doubles as a performance venue, and administrative offices. Opened in the spring of 1990, the facility now houses all district students under one roof. The 1936 red brick building was subsequently renovated to provide additional instructional space and classrooms for the growing needs of the district, while preserving its classic architectural integrity.^[20]

On July 16, 2009, the historic Thorp Grade School building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a significant example of American rural education.^[21]

Thorp High School

The Thorp High School mascot was originally the Red Devil, a now controversial slang term relating to Native Americans, however a vote of the student body in 1921 changed the mascot to the Tiger, while the school colors remained red and black. Thorp High School competes as a 1B member of the WIAA North Central Washington Conference.^[22]

The high school yearbook, the Hialitza (/haɪʌ.ˈlɪt.zʌ/, US dict: hi-ya-LIT-zuh), was first produced in 1922, and, although it has experienced some recent interruptions, has been published annually by the town's high school students to chronicle the events of each school term.^[23] The name of the publication is attributed to the Chinook language:

"When an Indian traveling through a mountainous country reaches the top of a mountain he unconsciously stretches forth his hand and says Hialitza which when translated means a panoramic view or great sight. The name stands for the great outdoors and that which lies beyond in the distance. So this record is symbolic of the Seniors who now look back over their four years in High School as in a panoramic view and into the future years they see only a haze in the distance. Thus upon reading this publication one looks upon a panoramic view of the Students and Student Activities of Thorp High School."^[23]

Thorp High School places in the top 18% out of 322 high schools in Washington's state high school rankings. The rankings are calculated by taking the standardized tests for Math, Reading, Science and Writing used by Washington to determine the proficiency level across varying grades and subjects for high schools in the state. This places Thorp as the highest rated high school in Kittitas County, well ahead of all neighboring districts in the area none of which are even ranked in the top 100.^[24]

On April 28, 2011, the White House announced that President Barack Obama had selected Thorp High School science teacher Dawn Sparks as a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Sparks was one of only 85 math and science teachers from across the nation to be selected, and one of only two from the state of Washington. Winners of this Presidential honor receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation and an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony and several days of educational and celebratory events, including visits with members of Congress.^[25][26]

Thorp’s Teaching American History Grant, To Preserve and Protect Our Future, in partnership with Central Washington University's media production department, received two Regional Emmy Awards. The first award, given in 2008, was for the production of the DVD "Moments in American History". The second Emmy Award was bestowed on June 5, 2010, in recognition of Thorp's TAHG production of the website Moments in American History. The website became the second most popular destination on iTunes.^[27]

Thorp High School

Thorp High School was formally established as a fully accredited institution in 1895, although the Thorp School District itself dates to 1873 and is the oldest continuously operating school system in Kittitas County.^[28]

Mission statement

To provide a safe, equitable, and creative learning environment devoted to excellence in which students grow into self-directed, lifelong learners prepared to become productive members of society.

Academics

Thorp High School students generally perform at or above state and national academic testing averages. The school has an 8.7 student-to-teacher ratio.^[29]

Thorp High School places in the top 18% out of 322 high schools in Washington's state high school rankings. The rankings are calculated by taking the standardized tests for Math, Reading, Science and Writing used by Washington to determine the proficiency level across varying grades and subjects for high schools in the state. This places Thorp as the highest rated high school in Kittitas County, well ahead of all neighboring districts in the area none of which are even ranked in the top 100.^[24]

Presidential Award for Excellence

On April 28, 2011, the White House announced that President Barack Obama had selected Thorp High School science teacher Dawn Sparks as a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Sparks was one of only 85 math and science teachers from across the nation to be selected, and one of only two from the state of Washington. Winners of this Presidential honor receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation and an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony and several days of educational and celebratory events, including visits with members of Congress.^[25][26]

Extracurricular activities

Student clubs and activities at Thorp High School include Associated Student Body (student government), Model United Nations, KYVE-TV's Apple Bowl (knowledge bowl), Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Band and Honor Society. In the past, the Spanish Club has taken chaperoned trips to Mexico to immerse the students in Spanish-speaking culture and language.

Long-standing traditions at the school include Homecoming, Spirit Week, Prom, Baccalaureate and the Senior Trip (a special excursion by the Senior class upon graduating, often to places like Disneyland or Canada). Each year prior to graduation, it is the practice of the Junior class to produce the Junior-Senior Banquet at which graduating students offer "Wills" to bequeath a certain item or comedic anecdote for each member of the Junior class, and Juniors offer "Prophesies" of the future for each member of the Senior class. Another yearly event at the school is the annual Harvest Carnival.

Athletics

As a member of the North Central Washington 1B conference, Thorp High School offers various interscholastic sports throughout the year.

Fight song

The Thorp High School fight song is Fight, Fight, Fight for Old Thorp High!

It is set to the tune of On, Wisconsin!

Students

In 2001, Thorp High School seniors made national news when they donated their entire class fund which they had saved for years, meant to be used for their Senior Trip, to the American Red Cross to help victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Burgeson met with the 15 students of the class and said of them, "This is quite a class [...] I think they're cool."^[30]

In the past, Thorp High School students have also received national honors for competitive projects related to National History Day, a national academic competition focusing on history. Thorp students have constructed numerous entries as an individual or in a group in various categories including Documentary, Exhibit, Paper and Performance. No less than a dozen times, Thorp High School has been named the state champion at the Washington state competition, and represented the state at the national level in Washington, D.C..

Thorp High School students have also had great success in academic competitions. For example, Thorp competitors have a long list of achievement at the Regional and State Leadership conferences for Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). They have a myriad of high honors and state championships in a broad range of business and career-related areas, competing against much larger schools in events testing their business knowledge and skills. Top state winners from Thorp have attended the National Leadership Conference.

Thorp PTSA

The Thorp Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA) serves the students and parents of Thorp schools, including Thorp High School. Through volunteerism, the group aims to provide resources, help in classrooms, sponsor field trips, and assist all students in the district to reach their potential. The goal of the organization is to foster and enhance an outstanding school system.

Teaching American History Grant

The "Teaching American History Grant” was designed to increase teacher knowledge of U. S. History content and historical inquiry. This professional development led to increased student achievement in both areas.

Thorp School District was the lead school of 17 school districts in Central Washington state. This collaboration of districts partnered with local and state libraries, local and state museums, historical societies, and nine Pacific Northwest universities, for content expertise, assistance on Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs), and as repositories for oral histories. These districts also partnered with the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for teacher training in CBAs, an integral part of Washington teacher professional development, and with the National Oral History Association for training in conducting oral histories.

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to Thorp teacher Tom Christian and the Thorp School District for three separate projects. This included the "America's Past Rekindles Our Future" grant (2003–06), the "Teaching Our Past for the Future" grant (2005–08), and the "To Preserve and Protect Our Future" grant (2008–11).^[31]

Regional Emmy Awards

Thorp’s Teaching American History Grant, To Preserve and Protect Our Future, in partnership with Central Washington University's media production department, received two Regional Emmy Awards. The first award, given in 2008, was for the production of the DVD "Moments in American History". The second Emmy Award was bestowed on June 5, 2010, in recognition of Thorp's TAHG production of the website Moments in American History. The website became the second most popular destination on iTunes.^[31]

History

Thorp school house ca. 1916. The building served the community as Thorp High School until it was demolished in 1958 to make way for a modern structure in the same location.

Established in 1895, Thorp's first school was housed in a small structure that was razed in 1912 and replaced by a two-story school house erected by John Newman and Glen Mason.^[32] During the early years there were eight grades and three years of high school, but only two years were accredited. The first day of school in this building was September 12, 1912, with 15 pupils. The first principal was Amos Foster.^[33] It housed all district pupils until a new elementary school was erected, after which it served as the town's high school.

In 1936, the new elementary school was built for $41,000 during the depths of the Great Depression using WPA funds. The finely crafted brick Colonial Revival structure was designed by noted architect John W. Maloney, and has served the school district continuously since its construction. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 as a significant example of American rural education.^[34][35] The building currently provides additional classroom space for Thorp High School.

The old high school was demolished in 1958, and replaced with a modern structure in the same location.^[32]

Voters in the district approved a multi-million dollar bond measure for school construction in February, 1989, by a margin of nearly 80%. The bonds were used to renovate and expand the 1958 school building with the addition of three new classroom wings, a gymnasium, a large commons area and administrative offices. Inaugurated in 1990, the building now houses Thorp High School and Thorp Junior High in one wing, with elementary pupils occupying an adjacent classroom wing.^[36]

Thorp High School's mascot was originally the Red Devil, a now controversial slang term relating to Native Americans, however a vote of the student body in 1921 changed the mascot to the Tiger, while the school colors remained red and black. Thorp High School competes as a 1B member of the North Central Washington "B" League.^[22]

The high school yearbook, the Hialitza, was first produced in 1922,^[23] and, although it has experienced some recent interruptions, has been published annually by the town's high school students to chronicle the events of each school term. The name of the publication is attributed to the Chinook language:

When an Indian traveling through a mountainous country reaches the top of a mountain he unconsciously stretches forth his hand and says Hialitza which when translated means a panoramic view or great sight. The name stands for the great outdoors and that which lies beyond in the distance. So this record is symbolic of the Seniors who now look back over their four years in High School as in a panoramic view and into the future years they see only a haze in the distance. Thus upon reading this publication one looks upon a panoramic view of the Students and Student Activities of Thorp High School.^[23]

Notable alumni

• Barton Porter - Author of Listen to the Millrace (Seattle: M. J. Stone Co., 1978, ISBN 0-9601888-0-0, ISBN 978-0-9601888-0-2), a story about Porter's childhood years in turn-of-the-century Thorp and the fascinating people who lived there. The book contains seven pages of color illustrations from paintings by the artist Mike Casad. Porter's family owned the F. C. Porter Dry Goods store in Thorp. The building still stands at the corner of Thorp Highway and Second Street and houses a printing business.
• State Rep. Margaret Leonard - In 1969,^[37] Margaret (née Johnson) Leonard became the first woman ever elected to the Spokane City Council, a position she held for ten years which included serving as Spokane's first female mayor pro tempore. She subsequently served as representative of the 3rd Legislative District in the Washington State Legislature from 1981 to 1983. Her political career began in 1961, when she organized a successful citizen campaign to defeat an unpopular city housing ordinance in Spokane. As a tax consultant, she hosted her own radio program, and also served as a staff writer for the Spokane Falls newspaper.^[38]
• State Rep. James B. Brain - James B. Brain was elected in 1950, to represent the 13th Legislative District in the Washington State Legislature. He died of a heart attack at his residence in Thorp on December 18, 1950, just three weeks before he was slated to assume office. Long a prominent member of the local Democratic Party, Brain served two terms as Kittitas county clerk and two terms as county commissioner from District 3. He retired from the county board of commissioners as its chairman.^[39][40]
• Dr. Warren "Gene" Brain - Recipient of the Central Washington University Distinguished Alumni Award for the College of the Sciences, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists in 1990, as well as the Distinguished Alumni Award for the University of Washington School of Dentistry in 1993. In 1994, the Seattle-King County Dental Society honored Dr. Brain with the Award of Special Merit, and that same year he also received the Award of Merit from the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists. He served as president of several organizations, including the American Association of Orthodontists, the University of Washington Dental Alumni Association, the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists and the Washington State Society of Orthodontists. In addition, he was a member of the Central Washington University Board of Trustees, and the Board of Visitors.^[41]
• 2nd Lt. Leon W. Ellsworth - 2nd Lt. Leon W. Ellsworth, United States Marine Corps, 5th Division, was a member of Marine Observation Squadron Five (VMO-5) at the Battle of Iwo Jima. He was shot down and killed behind enemy lines at Iwo Jima on March 21, 1945,^[42] after risking his life to take photos and gather details of enemy emplacements on the island. Operating from his exposed cockpit to complete 26 low-altitude sorties over enemy positions despite intense anti-aircraft fire, he relayed critical intelligence data to the American invasion force. For his exceptional heroism and valor, 2nd Lt. Leon W. Ellsworth was posthumously awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.^[43]
• Hazel B. Dunnington and Geraldine B. Siks - Sisters and nationally acclaimed co-authors of numerous award-winning books on children's literature and drama, both had long and distinguished careers in their own right. Hazel Brain Dunnington served as Professor of English Literature at Central Washington University, and Geraldine Brain Siks served as Professor of Drama at the University of Washington at Seattle.^[41]
• Lt. Col. Claude Thorp - In January, 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur authorized Lt. Col. Claude Thorp, former Provost Marshall of Fort Stotsenburg, to infiltrate the Japanese lines on Luzon Island in the Philippines, and establish a spy post in the mountains. After the American surrenders at Bataan and Corregidor, Lt. Col. Thorp organized the illustrious Luzon Guerrilla Force (LGF), and established the "Bamboo Telegraph" which consisted of tubes of bamboo being struck with Morse-code-like beats and relayed throughout the countryside. Lt. Col. Thorp was captured by the Japanese on October 29, 1942, and held as a prisoner of war until his execution on November 1, 1943. However, his men fought on until the American invasion in January, 1945, which in part owed its success to the sabotage operations they conducted against the enemy.^[44][45][46]
• George B. Brain, Ph.D. - Dr. George B. Brain, who influenced public education and policy nationwide, served as the Dean of the School of Education at Washington State University from 1964 to 1983. He received his M.A. in Education from Central Washington State College in 1950, and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1957. He became the state’s youngest ever school superintendent in 1953 upon leading the Bellevue School District. Dubbed by Time magazine in 1959 as "the fastest-rising educator in the U.S. public school system,” he went on to serve as superintendent of Baltimore Public Schools in the 1960s during a tumultuous period of court-ordered desegregation. Washington State University's Brain Library at Cleveland Hall is named in his honor, as is a WSU scholarship for students seeking advanced education degrees.^[47]

References

External links

• Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society
• Thorp School District No. 400