Students walk past a mural between classes at the newly rebuilt Beaverton High School on the first day of the 2026-2027 school year in Beaverton, Ore., on Aug. 26, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Students filtered into the brand-new Beaverton High School Wednesday under a pedestrian walkway separating the new Beaverton High and the old one. The school year kicked off with school leaders ringing the original schoolhouse bell while students attempted to find their classes.
“Normally upperclassmen know where to go and what’s going on so they can help the younger students, but they’re all kind of in it together,” said Lauren Maland, a library assistant at the school as she handed out Chromebooks to students.
“And then as staff, we’re also all in it because we’re learning the building — so we’re all just helping each other out.”
Along with the new Raleigh Hills Elementary School, Beaverton High School is one of the signature projects of a $723 million bond approved by voters in May 2022. The oldest school in the district is new again, with new technology, a courtyard and murals featuring student art.
“It’s refreshing,” said sophomore Alexander Perez Velasquez. “It’s really modern.”
Greg Karakashian is one of Alexander’s teachers. He said the new school shows a commitment to the Beaverton community.
“I think a lot of investments in public infrastructure are pretty immediate,” Karakashian said. “You can see, ‘Oh, a new road, a new bike lane.’ We’re going to see in a couple decades how this has impacted these kids.”
All images: Eli Imadali / OPB.
Karakashian’s classroom area, where he teaches AVID, a college and career readiness class, also includes “flex spaces” nearby, where he can have students work on projects independently.
But there’s a little bit of old in the new Beaverton High School too. The walls of the front office are covered with repurposed flooring from the old Merle Davies Elementary School, which existed on the Beaverton High School property. In the high school’s student center, there’s a wooden beaver sculpture donated by the Class of 1965.
“They tried to bring in the funky old with the new,” said Beaverton High School principal Andrew Kearl.
“Sometimes when you open a new facility, it can look a little sterile,” Kearl said. “This one does not feel that way - it’s vibrant; it feels like the old Beaverton.”
The school is operational, but final pieces of the project — including parking — won’t be complete until next summer.
Kelly Holt, a photography and yearbook teacher, unpacks a fake wooden plant while a real plant sits in the back as she sets up her new classroom at the newly rebuilt Beaverton High School on the first day of the 2026-2027 school year in Beaverton, Ore., on Aug. 26, 2026. Holt’s husband made the wooden laser-cut plant for her last year, when her classroom had no windows for real plants. She’s begun getting real plants for her classroom now that she has four large windows.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Kelly Holt teaches photography and yearbook. She’s excited for the opportunity the new space brings.
“I think kids are going to have a whole lot of fun going on photography scavenger hunts in the school,” Holt said.
She’s also excited to finally have windows in her classroom. A small monstera plant made of wood sits on her desk.
“I love plants, but my classroom in the old building didn’t have windows,” Holt explained. “My husband cut that out for me so I could have a plant in my classroom.”
But this year, she bought a real plant and a plant stand with room for more to build a whole classroom collection.
