Tri-Cities smallest high school is setting up to undertake a big expansion
Tri-Cities Prep Catholic High School plans to add more classrooms and facilities to its campus after a decade of steady enrollment growth.
The small private school at 9612 St. Thomas Drive in Pasco, Wash., serves about 200 students in grades 9th-12th.
“It is an exciting time for our school and we’re just hopeful that we can meet the needs for our expanding population,” school President Lisa Jacobs told the Tri-City Herald.
The project is still very much in the early stages, Jacobs said. But permits filed online show the potential for the school to build out on its 26-acre property over the coming years.
The project would essentially double its facilities by adding more than 83,000 square feet to the campus.
Tri-Cities Prep Catholic High filed plans to build an additional six classrooms, an auxiliary gym, activities center, a performance arts building and additional parking.
The school also detailed expansions to athletic facilities, including a new football field and stands, bleachers for the softball and baseball fields, stadium lights and a concession stand.
Jacobs said their focus is on adding the classrooms, but “the rest is a dream.”
“The need is to focus on classrooms for the coming years. If enrollment continues as it has, we’re going to need to look at adding a couple classrooms to our school,” she said, adding later, “It’s just grown. We’ve had more and more interest in our school. It’s been great, but we can’t find enough room.”
The current one-floor high school was built in 1999 and has seven classrooms. The school has added two portable building units for an additional three classrooms, and plans to remove those after its expansion.
Tri-Cities Prep offers eight sports — including football, baseball, softball and basketball — for students.
The school has not finalized a timeline or cost, Jacobs said. Permits show a possible build-out over the next 10 years.
No capital funds or donations have been raised yet for the projects.
Growing enrollment
Tri-Cities Prep was founded in 1994 as a private, independent, co-educational school approved by the bishops of both the Spokane and Yakima dioceses.
The school welcomed its first class of students in fall 1998, and served students first at a commercial outlet building off Broadmoor Boulevard.
Over the span of four years, between 2019 and 2023, the school’s student population grew by about 33%.
Unlike public schools, enrollment continued to rise during the pandemic. The school added 20 students between 2020 and 2021, going from about 170 to 190.
Jacobs said the school was able to return to in-person learning faster during the pandemic because of its small size.
The school expects to cap enrollment at 240 students, Jacobs said.
