Pacific High School

Pacific High School is a small alternative school with a big presence in downtown Sitka. The new building replaces a squat, inward-facing 1957 structure with a bright, welcoming facility that returns the school’s front door to Lincoln Street, Sitka’s main thoroughfare and a highly visible waterfront corridor.

The new school was built on the footprint of the original building and carefully scaled to sit between two celebrated historic structures. Its forms draw from Russian and American colonial architecture. The surrounding site reflects the community’s Tlingit heritage, with an ovoid concrete plaza, cedar benches around an existing totem pole, and native plant gardens. These layers support a deeper sense of place and cultural identity. Inside, the building is tailored to Pacific High’s “expeditionary learning” approach. Classrooms connect to outdoor spaces, and a central elliptical living room anchors the school’s daily crew meetings. Two classrooms and a flex space can combine to host “Culminations,” community-facing student presentations that close each term. Warm wood accents, bold colors, and ample natural light create a vibrant, home-like setting for a school with big ambitions.