Then and Now: Valley schools
We’ve come a long way from one-room buildings
Education in east Spokane County began in the 1880s in one- and two-room schoolhouses dotted among the farms and settlements in the Spokane River valley. Many one-school districts merged into the West Valley, East Valley and Central Valley school districts. Looking back: 1912: Vera High School was built at the corner of Sprague and Progress. Thirty students attended in 1915. 1923: Several small districts - Vera, Greenacres, Quinnamose, Liberty Lake, Saltese and Lone Fir - combined into Central Valley School District. A year earlier, several small schools combined into Otis Orchards School District (later East Valley School District). 1924: West Valley High School opened at the corner of Trent and Argonne. 1927: Appleway High School opened at the current site of Greenacres Middle School. The name was unpopular with students. “Central Valley” won a contest to choose a new name, according to historian Florence Boutwell. 1929-1932: Central Valley and West Valley high schools built a rivalry for their annual Armistice Day game, with CV taking three out of four games in those years. 1941: Lights were installed at Douglas Field at CV, the first field in Spokane County lit for night games. 1956: A new Central Valley High School was built at Sullivan Road and Eighth Avenue. 1960: Central Valley School District added University High School. East Valley High School opened the same year. 1972: Title IX, requiring gender equity in education and athletics, opened opportunities for girls. 1976: Valley schools became members of the Greater Spokane League.
-Jesse Tinsley
Oct. 11: Central Valley breaks through a banner to start the second half of a game. (Spokesman-Review photo: Jesse Tinsley)