Roosevelt High School, A Brief History

Roosevelt High School was founded in 1906 in the city of St. Johns, Oregon. The school was originally named St. Johns High School and the students met in Central/Williams and North/Sitton schools, sharing classrooms with younger students. In 1910, the high school students moved to their own, new building on North Syracuse Street. At that time the school’s name was changed to James Johns High School. The student body continued to grow and by the early 1920’s, the school building was falling into disrepair and was no longer adequate for the number of students. St. Johns was now a part of Portland, having been annexed in 1916. The new high school building was erected on North Central Street and was modeled after Franklin High School in Southeast Portland. The school’s name was changed to Roosevelt High School, following the trend of other Portland high schools that were named for United States presidents.

The new building was declared a “modern brick structure”. The main building, originally with twenty-five classrooms, and the boiler room were the first buildings to be constructed. They sat on thirteen- and one-half acres bordered by Central, Smith, Ida, and Burr streets.

Construction began in 1921. The cornerstone was placed in 1922 and the buildings were dedicated that same year. In January 1923, classes began in the new building even though it was not quite finished. The students were in awe of the beauty of the architecture of their new school, from the many arched windows to the molding around the doors and in the classrooms.

In the 1920’s, students participated in popular traditions such as Stunt Day, Hi-Jinx, and Theodore Rosevelt Day. They shopped at Currin’s for Drugs, St. Johns Hardware, and St. Johns Candy Kitchen. And they lamented the fact that our tower had no clock. In 1923 Roosevelt's first Rose Festival Princess was Lucy Lee Thomas, who was also our first Queen of Rosaria.

The 1930’s and 1940’s brought many changes to the campus including the building of the East wing in 1932 which housed the auditorium, music room, and a new cafeteria located in the basement under the auditorium. Portables were added as the student population grew. Murals in the original library, Room 219, were painted by Margaret Smith, class of 1934. Six Japanese cherry trees were moved from the old airport at Swan Island to line the main entrance to RHS. During the early 40’s students became accustomed to air raid drills and participated in war related activities.

The highlights of the next several decades included the completion of the new gymnasium in 1952. The 50’s were good sports years for baseball, basketball, football, and girls’ volleyball. The first Memorial Garden plaque was placed in 1958. The library wing was completed in 1961, and the Cafeteria and Resource Center wing was completed in 1966 and included a teachers lounge and more classrooms. In 1964, the Planetarium/Observatory was completed by the applied science classes. In 1965, Roosevelt received the prestigious KNAPP School Libraries Grant for the West Coast. In 1971, the Career Education wing and a new shop building were dedicated. 1974 brought improvements to the campus including new sidewalks, updated hallway lighting, and a career education library and health center. The Upstairs School which started in 1966 was expanded in 1974 and assisted students with the basics of reading, math, and social studies.

A new all-weather track was dedicated in 1985 and in 1988 the gym was remodeled including installation of new bleachers. In the mid-1980’s, our tower was finally able to show off a new clock. Roosevelt Renaissance 2000 began in the early 1990’s as part of a five-year school improvement project. RHS became one of 6 Oregon high schools to pilot a school to work training program. In 2004, our football field became bright with new lights, the first in 20 years. Sun School, a program that supported after school activities and clubs was started in 2004. Also in 2004, Roosevelt was split into three small schools, each operating independently of the others with the goal of better academic success for students. In 2010, Roosevelt received a grant to reunite the school and disband the small schools which were struggling with poor achievement, poor attendance, and low graduation rates. In the first part of the new century, Roosevelt students held jobs at McDonalds, Elmers, Bahama Mamas, Papa Murphys, and GI Joes.

In 2010, a campus remodel included a new track (TRAC, Teddy Roosevelt Athletic Center), a boys locker room makeover, and a remodel of the teacher/faculty room. In partnership with Nike, a new shield and logo were developed in 2015 for the school to use in communications and marketing. The biggest campus makeover to date was started in 2015 as demolition of each of the wings (gym, cafeteria, library, music, and resource center) began as part of a bond project approved in 2012. The remodel included a two-story commons area, the repurposing of the auditorium into a media center, a new arts wing for theatre, music, and art, a new gym and auxiliary gym, classrooms wired for new technology, a Makerspace and wood shop, and a community services center with a health clinic, clothes closet, and food pantry. The newly updated building was opened to students and staff in 2016.

Beginning in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic brought many changes to the education process as teachers found new ways to teach through Google Classroom and Zoom, and students found new ways to learn. Athletic activities, Prom, graduation, and all other activities were canceled.

For more than 100 years, Roosevelt students have persevered through many changes, including wars and pandemics, but one thing that has not changed is the spirit of the community of Roosevelt High School.