The renovation added something unique for the Oakland campus. It is the new home for Tacoma’s online learning program.
TACOMA, Wash. — When students walk through the doors of Oakland Secondary School this week, they’re in for a surprise. The 112-year-old building may look the same from the outside, but step inside and you’ll find yourself in what feels like a completely different school.
The historic Tacoma facility has just wrapped up a major renovation that keeps part of the classic 1912 charm, with big windows and brick walls, while packing in some modern learning spaces.
The renovation added something unique for the Oakland campus. It is the new home for Tacoma’s online learning program. The 800 students in TOL and hundreds of others in the part-time online Tacoma Flex program now have a place to meet their teachers face-to-face and dive into hands-on lab work that you just can’t get through a computer screen.
“Really, the foundation for all of this is personalization and meeting students and families where they are,” Oakland principal Shaun Martin said. “It includes this combination of virtual skills and in-person skills, so we kind of bring all that together.”
Special education teacher Krystall Fowler was busy setting up her classroom when KING 5 visited.
“Walking inside, you’re kind of transitioned into this brand-new world of a school,” she said. “Looking at the outside compared to inside, you would never guess it would look like this. We’re just looking to build our community, and I think this building alone is going to help do that.”
Tacoma voters are to thank for the transformation. Back in 2020, they approved a bond measure that has funded the rebuild and remodel of eight schools in the district. Oakland is the latest to receive a renovation.
Two more elementary schools, Lowell and Whittier, are set to get their own reopenings over the next couple of years.
