Lakota Middle School Rebuild
Lakota Middle School
Originally built: 1960
Origin of name: A Native American word meaning “considered friends,” or “alliance of friends”.
Current Construction Status: Planning, Design Development
Construction start date: Spring, 2009
Address: 1415 SW 314th Street, Federal Way, WA 98023
Last Major Renovation: 1987
Nearly 50 years of age, Lakota Middle School was built as a junior high serving 7th, 8th and 9th grade students. Lakota became a middle school when the entire district transitioned to a middle school-four year high school structure in 2003.
Now serving 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, it is one of two middle schools in the district to offer the Checkpoint/Cambridge program as a prequel to the Cambridge Preparatory Program at Federal Way High School. It has a proud history in music instruction as well as academics and sports. Lakota’s feeder schools are Adelaide, Green Gables, Lake Grove, and Twin Lakes elementary schools.
The school was originally built in the “California school” style popular in the 60’s, with long hallways and a seemingly endless number of entrances.
Not long after the passage of the bond measure in May, 2007, district facilities personnel and architects began a series of meetings called charrettes with staff, parents and community members to better understand the Lakota learning environment and needs/wishes for the new building. This was incorporated into the district’s collaborative vision of what education will look like for the foreseeable future.
Future Lakota Integrated Learning Center (ILC) and Great Room
Because Lakota will be built on a slope, the front entrance of the building takes visitors and students into the school on the top level of the building. The area just inside the main door opens to the level below, allowing a view of the school’s Great Room. The Great Room will accommodate multiple uses, including cafeteria, larger meeting area and a performance venue. An alcove on the north side of this room will house the student store and provides a location for students to gather. Portals for Internet access are being built into this area, which will allow it, if the school's administration chooses, to be a middle school version of an Internet cafe.
Three distinct areas in the school will have classroom clusters around a larger joint area, to allow collaboration between teachers and students.