Original Research by School Decision on Highline High School
Highline High School serves grades nine through twelve in Burien, a city that is a mix of residential neighborhoods and a compact commercial downtown. The school is part of Highline Public Schools, a district based in Burien that has been carrying out a multi-year school modernization and construction program, including rebuilding and relocating schools and adding new choice school options. This activity reshapes feeder patterns and program availability for families. The district’s choice school portfolio now includes Innovation Heights Academy, Maritime High School, Big Picture, Highline Virtual Academy, and Choice Academy, giving secondary students more specialized pathways beyond their neighborhood zoned school.
The student body, numbering over a thousand, is one marked by significant diversity. Hispanic students make up the largest share. Students who identify as Asian, white, Black, two or more races, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native each respectively represent a smaller portion of the total. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of a lower-income population. Rates for special education and English learner status were not available in the data provided; a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of those supports.
Academically, state assessment results for the most recent school year show the share of students meeting the bar in English language arts was above two-fifths, while the share in math was below one-fifth, and the share in science was above a quarter. These are single-year figures and the data does not include a trend line. A parent comparing this school to others in the area should note that the overall performance across tested subjects places Highline High School in a position relative to other districts in King County. Because the comparison required a proficiency index across the full set of subjects, and that metric was not applicable for this school in the comparison tool, it is not possible to offer a precise ranking against neighboring districts. The school’s four-year graduation rate and chronic absenteeism rate were also not available in the data, so a full picture of student persistence and daily attendance is missing from this account.
The school itself is a regular public high school, not a charter or magnet, and sits within a community that is growing. The Puget Sound Regional Council has designated Burien one of the Regional Growth Centers that will see focused urban growth, and hundreds of new residents move to the city each year. Downtown Burien has seen the completion of a Town Square development that includes a library, city hall, retail, and new housing around a central park. Healthcare is a major employment sector in Burien, and the Highline School District itself is a significant employer based in the city. For families buying a home, typical home values in the area are above the national benchmark but below the Washington state benchmark, and the local housing market has seen a modest decline in median listing price over the past year. Rents are in a range that requires a meaningful portion of a typical household income.
Civic life in Burien is oriented around downtown, with a walkable core, a weekly farmers market, monthly art walks, and a performing arts center. Public transit connections include a bus rapid transit line and a community shuttle. The Highline Performing Arts Center and the King County Library in Town Square serve as community anchors.
School modernization work is ongoing. Pacific Middle School is currently at an interim site, and some elementary schools have interim locations or scheduled relocations as the district rebuilds facilities. This means that for families sending a student to Highline High School now, the school’s own building may not be the only facility in flux; the broader pattern of school construction may shift which middle schools feed into the high school and where those middle school students attend class during the transition period.
For a family considering this school, the main considerations are a diverse and economically mixed student body, a district that has been expanding specialized secondary options, and state assessment results in English language arts, math, and science that fall in a range a parent would want to investigate further with the school. The school’s graduation rate and discipline data were not available in the sources consulted, so a parent should ask the school for its own reporting on those measures. The community around the school is growing, walkable, and investing in civic infrastructure, and the housing market, while costly relative to national averages, is more accessible than much of King County.
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