About

We are a community that deeply believes in service, hard work, the joy of learning and the importance of helping the next generation be ready for the future.

The Richland School District of today dates from 1944, when the U.S. government built the plutonium-enriching facilities at the Hanford site and established the modern community of Richland for the site's thousands of employees and their families.

Those families were just the latest in a series of communities to call the Mid-Columbia home. They were preceded by the pioneers, farmers and ranchers who had moved West decades before and the Native American tribes who lived in the region for thousands of years. All similarly sought to prepare their children to lead better lives than previous generations.

Vision

We aspire to be a center of academic excellence that empowers graduates to be engaged and powerful learners, effective communicators, creative and critical thinkers, resilient individuals and compassionate citizens.

Mission

Richland School District will educate and develop students who learn from the past, listen in the present and lead our future; meet all students’ individual needs; and cultivate knowledge, skills and abilities in order to maximize student potential so they meet their goals.

Core Values

• Students learn best when they know we believe in their success.
• Students learn best with high-quality and effective instruction aligned with their goals.
• Students learn best through relationships built on compassion, empathy, and respect in a supportive learning environment.
• Students learn best when schools and staff partner with families & communities.
• Students learn best when they feel safe and secure.

Learn how the Richland School District is getting students ready for graduation and beyond in the Richland Ready Strategic Plan.

Historical Timeline

March 1943: Richland School District (then known as District #6) was notified of Government takeover. In April, Richland schools closed with no high school graduation excercises.

April 23, 1943: Richland schools held their last classes on Friday, April 23. Seniors were handed their diplomas without commencement baccalaureate or any customary exercises. Continued public school was not considered likely. 1943 graduating class included Leona Arristouilh, Gertrude Baumgartner, Ruthelen Fergin, Margaret Kinney, Ruth Krohn, Jean Lucke, Jean Weir, Eugene Albert, William Galbraith, Wayne Supplee, Ernest Shreve and Roy Voiles.

May 1, 1944: The new Columbia High School opened with 277 students. Mr. Joe Barker was the principal.

June 1944: The old Richland High School was condemed.

September 11, 1944: The new Richland School District #400 opened with an enrollment of 2,135 students and 73 teachers. Jefferson Elementary opened with Miss Louise Johnson as principal. Sacajawea Elementary opened with Mrs. Lillie Peterson as principal.

January 3, 1945: Marcus Whitman Elementary opened with 672 students, Mrs. Margaret Hartman Wellman was principal.

February 13, 1945: The Hanford School was discontinued and all students transferred to Richland.

June 3, 1946: A total of 95 Richland students would graduation from Columbia High School.

June 4, 1947: A class of 117 students graduated from Columbia High School.

June 19, 1947: Arthur L. Dawald was named basketball coach for Columbia High School.

September 2, 1947: Richland schools opened the term with an enrollment of 3,652 students, an increase of 517 over 1946. Schools included Columbia High School and Sacajawea, Marcus Whitman, Jefferson and Lewis & Clark Elementary schools.

October 16, 1947: The Richland School District announced a budget for the 1947-48 school year in the amount of $920,009,24, nearly twice the amount of the 1946-47 school year.

December 11, 1947: R.H. Fergin, Superintendent of Richland School District #400, resigned after six years as superintendent (1941-1947). Mr. Fergin served the Richland school system as grade school principal from 1925-40.

February 16, 1948: The John Ball Elementary School in north Richland opened with 136 students. Peak enrollment was 921 in January 1949. The school eventually closed June 30, 1955 by the U.S. Army. The first principal was Raymond Lamb.

March 11, 1948: P.A. Wright was appointed Superintendent, effective July 1, 1948.

May 10, 1948: Construction began on a new junior high school to be named Robert Gray Junior High School on the corner of Thayer Drive and Lee Boulevard. The name was later changed to Carmichael Junior High.

June 1, 1948: A class of 170 seniors graduated from Columbia High School.

August 30, 1948: The 1948-49 school year began with 5,500 students and 224 teachers.

October 4, 1948: Spalding Elementary School opened with 500 students with Mr. Ernest Nicolius as principal.

November 13, 1948: Richland's first case of arson produced two expensive fires. One of the blazes gutted one one-third of Lewis & Clark School. The other the Masonic Temple. Estimated damage of both fires was $60,000.

November 25, 1948: The town of Richland was formally dissolved by order of the Superior Court (Prosser), when Judge B.B. Horrigan signed an order of disincorporation. By order of the court, the town treasurer would transfer to the court all funds and the court clerk would transmit to the state treasurer a sum of $3,952.36 representing a claim of the state for motor vehicle funds. Bills of the town officers were to be paid and balance turned over to the county treasurer for the account of Richland School District #400. Also since it was found impractical to sell the cemetery property, it was ordered that title to land be vested to Richland School District #400.

February 28, 1949: Robert Gray Junior High (later named Carmichael Junior High School) opened its doors to 550 students with Principal Mr. C.I. Anderson. The school was named for S.P. Carmichael, the superintendent of Richland Schools 1923-1938.

June 6, 1949: Columbia High School's largest graduating class, 206 seniors, participated in baccalaureate and commencement excercises.

June 1949: L.A. McIntosh was named principal of Columbia High School. Vice principal was Robert L. Chisholm.

September 6, 1949: Schools opened with 5,561 students, a gain of 162 students over 1948.

September 6, 1951: Chief Joseph Junior High School opened. The principal was Robert L. Chisholm, who later become Superintendent of the district.

January 28, 1952: Jason Lee Elementary opened on Van Giesen Ave. The principal was Mrs. Lilly Peterson.

July 1, 1953: Neal McClure was named superintendent and served until 1960.

September 1955: The new building at Columbia High School was named McIntosh Hall for L.A. McIntosh, the former principal.

December 1958: Richland School Board took over $16,851,005 in buildings, equipment and supplies which constitute the Richland School System, along with an annual operating deficit of more than $500,000.

July 1, 1960: Robert L. Chisholm was named superintendent. He served until January 1966.

January 16, 1961: Richland School District #400 terminated its leave with the City of Richland Swimming Pool.

February 2, 1964: New facilities including a gymnasium for Columbia High School were completed.

September 1, 1965: An enrollment of 7,668 students was anticipated for the 1965-66 school year.

June 1, 1966: Samuel R. Clark was named superintedent.

September 1, 1966: Enrollment was 7,846 students.

September 1, 1967: Enrollment was approximately 8,160 students.

1968: Richland voters approved a $1.7 million bond for construction of a second high school (Hanford High School). 

1969: Responsibility for the adult education program in Richland was transferred from Richland School District #400 to Columbia Basin College. Enrollment was 1,000 students.

1970: Sacajawea II Elementary School opened. The original Sacajawea on Stevens Driver and Williams was leased to a different organization. The new Lewis & Clark Elementary school opened. The annex of the old Lewis & Clark School was remodeled in 1975 and the remainder of the old building was demolished.

1971: Marcus Whitman Elementary School opened in a new building. The old building was demolished.

1972: Hanford School opened with grades K-12 on the same campus.

1978: Tapteal and Badger Mountain Elementary Schools opened.

1982: Columbia High School was renamed Richland High School. Richland Stadium was renamed Fran Rish Stadium after long-time coach and athletic director. A new auditorium was built at Richland High School. Spalding Elementary school closed.

1983: The school board voted to close Hanford Elementary.

References:

Beardsley, P. (1968). The Long Road to Self-Government: The History of Richland, Washington, 1943-1968. . City of Richland.

Maurer, K. (Ed.). (1983). Alive: A History of Richland and the Hanford Project. Advance Advertising, Inc.