South Shore School

The South Shore School is a Pre-k to 8 public school in the Seattle Public Schools system. It is located in the Rainier Beach area in the southeastern part of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The school was founded in 2002 as a public-private partnership between the school district and the Seattle-based New School Foundation.DemographicsIn 2010 the student population was identified as 42.6% African American, 30% Asian, and 9.1% White, 64% qualified for free or reduced-priced meals, and 13.4% were classified as transitional bilingual. The 2000 Census reported that of children under 17 in this neighborhood 44% spoke a language other than English.History and facilityThe school originally opened in 2002 as a pre-school and kindergarten in the former South Shore Middle School building, which first opened in 1973. It has since grown by adding one grade per year.The new South Shore K-8 School is located in a densely populated urban neighborhood on a site shared with the district’s South Lake Alternative High School, the Rainier Beach Family Center, Committee for Children, University Preparatory Academy and the Seattle Academy of Arts and Science. The Rainier Beach Community Center, owned and operated by the city, occupies part of the former middle school building to which the new school is physically connected. The new school was constructed adjoining the former middle school building which remains occupied by the Rainier Beach Community Center. The community center closed in 2011 and is scheduled to re-open in 2013 after completion of the new community center and swimming pool.The new facility is designed with a central commons area called "the Rotunda", with three radiating two-story wings containing classrooms clustered in seven, grade-based small learning communities.