A small school was opened for the local children on December 23, 1899, with the election of three school board members. The Board rented a woodshed and hired its first teacher. School District #88 had 7 students when its door opened. The woodshed school lasted only one year. In 1900 a new 2-room school was built on the site of the present high school (one room housed the teacher and the other was the classroom). The student population grew to 24 and two teachers were hired. (Click here to learn more about the man who brought education to Fife.)
In 1904 a 2-story building was built at the same location. The first principal was hired and three teachers added to the staff.
The school district was threatened when Tacoma sought to absorb Fife within their school district boundaries. Fife took Tacoma to court and won the legal battle. A new school district was formed and the boundaries drawn by the court actually increased the taxable property in Fife 's favor.

The added income allowed Fife to build an auditorium in 1912 and furnish books for the first time. In 1914 the district secured a bond that provided a 4-room extension to the main building. A play-shed was built for rainy days and water and heating systems were installed. Gone were the days of stoking the wood furnace and bringing water from the nearby city fountain. The school was plagued by drainage problems and was in constant need of shoring the foundation lest the building sink. The land was drained and electricity installed.
Fife was truly a multi-ethnic school. With a population of 163, seven nationalities were represented. The earliest settlers of course were the Puyallup Indians. The Swiss and Germans came to dairy farm. The Italian and Japanese came to truck farm.

Before 1912, any Fife student who wished to attend high school had to commute to Stadium High School in Tacoma . The reapportionment of school district boundaries allowed Fife to establish its own high school. In 1916 Fife held its first graduation ceremonies for two young women. The principal the Fife school took an active role in the educational process. Click here to see a picture. At that time the high school consisted of one large assembly room on the upper floor and two classrooms. The manual training and domestic science rooms were located on the lower floor. In 1914 Fife started its first Home Economics class under the guidance of Miss Jessie Drummond. The first pressure cooker in the community belonged to the school. This purchase brought about a domestic science class. The class demonstrated the use of the pressure cooker and canning methods at the Puyallup Fair and took away many prizes. (Continue)