Welcome to Mountlake Terrace High School! We are a 3A public high school in the Edmonds School District. With about 1400 students (in 2022-2023) we are one of five high schools in the district – four comprehensive and one alternative – that serves students in 9th through 12th grade. We are the high school that serves the southeast quadrant of our district that is bordered on the west by the Puget Sound, to the south by the Snohomish-King county line, to the north are our neighboring districts in Mukilteo and Everett, and to the east is the Northshore School District. The cities of Mountlake Terrace, Brier, Lynnwood, Edmonds and Woodway are within our boundaries as well as a significant area of unincorporated South Snohomish County.
Mountlake Terrace High School opened in the fall of 1960 in a much different building than we are in now, but on the same campus. Originally a 3-year senior high school, the district switched to a high school/middle school model in the mid-1980s. The first group of students who established much of the traditions that continue today were just sophomores and juniors in 1960-61 since the seniors of 1961 who had been attending Edmonds High School were allowed to finish their tenure at their original school. In the fall of 1960, students chose the Hawks as the school mascot, established their student newspaper – the Hawkeye – and their yearbook – the Tempo. Once the ASB was formed, they identified scarlet and silver as the school’s official colors – a nod toward Washington State University since their bigger sibling school, Edmonds High School, had long used the University of Washington’s color scheme of purple and gold. It made sense as Edmonds High School was on the west side of the district and Mountlake Terrace High School was in the east. The following year, white was added as an accent color to the school palette. When freshmen were added in the 1980s, black became the second accent color. Today, each class has claimed its own color:
• Seniors – scarlet
• Juniors – black
• Sophomores – white
• Freshmen – silver/gray
The biggest physical change to the campus came in 1990-1991 when a new building took shape just east of the old structure. Opening in the fall of 1991, the current building features several unique areas and is totally contained indoors, unlike its predecessor that only had outdoor hallways. While minor renovations have occurred since 1991, for the most part the building continues to serve the community well. The gymnasium is officially and affectionately referred to as the Terraceum (a name chosen by a school-wide vote in 1992), and the nearly 500-seat theater is in almost constant use by school and community groups. The main gathering place for students is known as the HUB and a gigantic skylight pyramid over the central area of the school is one of its most distinguished features.
The athletic programs have long been part of the WesCo league and there are numerous offerings for both girls and boys in each of the three seasons. Nearly every program has had great success during the 60+ years that MTHS has competed, including numerous individual and team district, regional and state champions. The academic and co-curricular programs Mountlake Terrace is most known for include its music program – particularly its instrumental jazz bands; the magnet STEM school that attracts nearly 400 students from across the district and has been one of the leaders in the state for nearly three decades; the media programs, including both print and broadcast journalism, which have produced years of national, state and regional award-winning publications and broadcasts as well as featuring dozens of alumni who are in the industry.
The current leadership (as of October 2023) at MTHS includes:
Principal Crosby Carpenter
Assistant Principal Dan Falk
Athletic Director Sharalee Mathews-Malloy
Athletics Secretary: Emily Crum-Smith
ASB/Activities Director/Drama Adviser: Jeannie Brzovic
For more information, please go to the official Mountlake Terrace High School website.