‘We set the tone, we created the culture’: Ridgeline High School celebrates first graduating class

Changing schools can be difficult for any student. Making new friends, joining new teams and simply entering new hallways can add to the stressful transition.

The 2023 senior class at Ridgeline High School shouldered an additional responsibility – creating traditions and building a culture for themselves and future Falcons students at the new Liberty Lake school.

The group of more than 235 seniors did just that.

Dressed in green caps and gowns, the seniors celebrated as the school’s first graduating class Saturday at Gonzaga University’s McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane.

“No matter where our lives take us after we leave here today, we will forever be a part of something spectacular,” valedictorian Brock Brito told his classmates. “Together, we have made history.”

The school broke ground in 2019 and opened its doors to students in the fall of 2021 after “massive overcrowding” at Central Valley and University high schools in Spokane Valley, Ridgeline Principal Jesse Hardt told The Spokesman-Review.

Ridgeline welcomed about 950 students that fall. Most were freshmen and sophomores, plus some juniors who opted for the new digs at Ridgeline rather than remain at the Central Valley School District’s other two high schools.

Seniors stayed at their current schools.

Brito and Abbie Baddeley, class salutatorian, both transferred to Ridgeline from Central Valley.

“I just saw how many opportunities there were to be able to create a new school culture with a lot of my really close friends,” Brito said.

He said he also wanted to continue performing in band under the direction of Eric Parker.

Baddeley, who will study astrophysics this fall at the University of California-Santa Cruz, said she was initially hesitant to attend Ridgeline because of her familiarity with Central Valley and her siblings had graduated from the school.

“I feel like it was an amazing decision because I ended up loving it here so much,” she said of Ridgeline.

With no senior class in Ridgeline’s inaugural year, Brito, Baddeley and their junior classmates were left to lead the way.

“We definitely kind of stumbled through it at first because none of us really knew what we were doing and it was all super new,” Baddeley said.

High school was still somewhat new to the class, especially since the pandemic forced classes online for much of their underclassmen years.

“I feel like a lot of us kind of just stepped into those roles really naturally and became leaders pretty easily, which was really cool to see,” Baddeley said.

Brito said leading the student body and establishing a culture without experience at the school was a challenge. But, the faculty, staff and administration provided great support and passion.

“In some ways, that responsibility kind of turned into motivation because we all wanted to see Ridgeline succeed, and I think in so many different ways our school has become exactly what we were hoping it to be,” Brito said. “And I think that’s really incredible to be able to just go from a building with walls and a roof to have such a vibrant school community in such a short amount of time.”

That vibrancy can be seen in school spirit, which lacked a bit when the school opened, Brito said.

For example, the student section at football games the start of their junior year was sparse, but students have bought into the school’s teams since.

Baddeley said the class was able to create new traditions, like “Verde Loco,” which means “Crazy Green” in Spanish. It’s a school spirit month in March in which students dress up, decorate halls, raise money and do other fun activities.

Owen Rich, Associated Student Body president, told his classmates Saturday that some thought the start of Ridgeline was like building an airplane while flying it.

“We made things happen without a plan or a blueprint,” he said. “We were the first to walk through the front doors.”

Rich said they were the first to create, join and leave clubs, teams, bands and choirs.

“Together, we made Ridgeline what it is today,” he said.

Brett Rogers, senior class adviser, teacher and coach at Ridgeline, described it as “running kind of blind” because the class didn’t have a model to build on.

“They were starting things from scratch,” he said. “They hadn’t seen a senior class graduate. They hadn’t seen traditions that schools have had and built upon for years and years. So they were creating their own … traditions. And that’s hard, that’s really hard.”

Because of Rogers’ multiple roles at the school, he interacted with students in the classroom and on the sports fields. He also taught a number of the seniors while they were freshmen at Central Valley.

“For them to, not just this year as seniors, but as juniors and seniors, to create tradition and create culture out of thin air essentially, that’s a different level of grit,” Rogers said. “That’s a different level of resilience and creativity and proactivity.”

Opening a new school on the heels of a pandemic was unprecedented for students and teachers, Rogers said.

“Given those circumstances, they rose to the occasion like absolute champions,” Rogers said of the seniors. “I couldn’t be prouder of a group.”

Hardt said future senior classes will be larger, with next year’s around 350 and more than 400 in the following years.

However, this year’s small class allowed him and other staff members to get to know students really well.

“They’re our first,” Hardt said. “That’s a special honor, and they know that. And they know that they’re part of history and they take a lot of pride in that and a lot of pride in being Falcons.”

Brito, who will study physics this fall at Georgia Tech, said future classes will strive to be better than their class, aiming to beat their school records and grab championship titles.

Brito helped bring the school its first-ever state title as a member of the varsity Knowledge Bowl team that won state this year.

“They will carry on the legacy that each and every one of us has contributed to Ridgeline High School, but we will always be the first,” he said.

Rich said Ridgeline built the seniors into “mighty men and women.”

“It is now our honor to be the first class to leave the nest,” he said. “We set the tone, we created the culture. Now, we must truly soar.”