The River Ridge Elementary School is Kent School District’s western most elementary school, and was built in reaction to significant overcrowding the district was experiencing at the elementary level.
Recognizing that the design of their previous school models was lagging behind the times, with this new facility the district was striving to find innovations and solutions to bring their elementary school in alignment with the district’s vision for curriculum and educational delivery systems. With this new elementary, Kent was looking for learning environments that were inclusive and collaborative at all levels of the school hierarchy, and a facility that could fully engage all types of learners.
Taking advantage of sloping topography, the classroom wings of the new school step down the site, stretching out towards the neighboring Grandview Park. This orientation provides classrooms, shared activity spaces, and the playfields with views of Mt. Rainier and the greater Kent Valley.
River Ridge Elementary School is organized to support and encourage teaching and learning at all scales, balancing durability with flexibility to create a state-of-the-art facility that supports the types of educational programs and teaching methods that Kent School District is striving to deliver to their students.
