Central School, a two-story wooden building, was the first school located on the southwest block at Fourth and Stevens. A four-room school, it opened in October 1883. In 1890, citizens voted bonds to build a new high school and four elementary schools. The old Central school building was moved to the corner of Fifth and Bernard and became a private school. The new high school, first known as "Spokane High School," was constructed on the Fourth and Stevens site and opened in 1891. By 1906, the influx of immigrants and subsequent boom in Spokane's population created a need for a second high school. North Central High School was built and opened in 1908 to serve the students on the north side the river. Spokane High School became known as South Central High School. Fire destroyed South Central High School in 1910, shortly after sunrise on June 21. The blaze destroyed the interior of the school but left the remains of the exterior walls standing. In January 1911, citizens passed a bond issue of $500,000 to pay for replacement of the school. In a ceremony, former President Teddy Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the school on April 8, 1911. Students attended classes at North Central while work progressed on the new school. Problems in construction and strikes by workers delayed the opening until April 1912. Meanwhile, the Spokane Daily Chronicle encouraged readers to enter a contest to suggest names for the new high school. Richard Hargreaves, the principal of North Central, suggested the names of Lewis and Clark, using one name for each high school, North and South Central. The school board settled for naming the south side school Lewis and Clark. Between 1999 and 2001 the school underwent a major renovation and addition. This included addition of new classrooms to the east side of the school, replacement of the former field house with a new E. L. Hunter Field House, and a skybridge over S. Stevens Street to the east to connect the school building to the new field house. In 2001, the school was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places and The Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Places.
Demographics
As of October 2007, 49% of the population was male and 51% of the population was female. White students have the biggest ethnic representation at 80.4% with African American follow at 6.2%, Asian/Pacific Islander at 3.0%, Hispanic at 3.0%, Asian at 2.6%, American Indian/Alaskan Native at 2.2%, and Pacific Islander at 0.4%. As of October 2007, 26.2% of students received free or reduced-priced meals, 8.0% were a part of the special education program, and 2.8% in transitional bilingualism. The 2006–2007 school year saw a dropout rate of 5.0%, an on-time graduation rate of 80%, and extended graduation rate of 84.4%.
Achievements
Newsweek Magazine named Lewis and Clark High School one of the top 1500 US High Schools in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005.
