A Brief History of Bethel
»The Bethel School District officially formed in 1949, but our history goes much further back. The first one-room schoolhouses in this area began appearing way back in the
1850s, and many of our current schools predate the formation of the district.
» Spanaway Elementary School officially opened its doors to students in 1928, but it was far from the first elementary school in Spanaway. Built way back in
1869, the first school in Spanaway was built on the southwest shores of Spanaway Lake.
»The Clover Creek Colonial School opened to students in 1938. Eleven years later all the smaller local school districts combined to form the Bethel School District in 1949. The district was named after Ruth Bethel, the first female superintendent of Pierce County.
» Bethel High School opened in 1952, making it the oldest of the district’s four high schools. Bethel High has seen an enormous amount of history during its nearly 70 years, with countless politicians, athletes and academic all-stars passing through its classrooms and hallways.
» When Spanaway Lake High School became Bethel’s second brick-and-mortar high school in 1981, the district’s student population was just 8,761. The school underwent a major remodel in 2010.
» The district’s three newest schools – Frederickson Elementary, Nelson Elementary, and Liberty Middle School – were built in 2009.
A decade later, a bond was passed that will build three brand new schools beginning in 2021.
School Board Members
Thomas Seigel Superintendent, Bethel Schools
Marcus Young
253.439.7174 myoung@bethelsd.org Director, District 1
John Manning
253.222.2938 jmanning@bethelsd.org Director, District 2
Roseanna Camacho
253.495.0096 rcamacho@bethelsd.org Director, District 3
Amy Pivetta
253.213.3767 apivetta@bethelsd.org Director, District 4
Brenda Rogers
360.893.5425 brogers@bethelsd.org Director, District 5
