[2] In 1924, Helen Taylor Bush, a supporter of John Dewey's philosophy of progressive education, opened a preschool and kindergarten in her home to six students.

[citation needed] In 1941, Bush helped organize the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools, now called NWAIS.

Gracemont continues to serve as a classroom and administrative building for the Upper School.

[5] In 1986, the Bush School completed two capital campaigns that dated back to 1972 resulting in a faculty endowment, renovations to its Gracemont building, and construction of the Commons, a new gym, an art building, administrative offices, Benaroya, and the urban courtyard.

The twenty-acre campus and educational facility, formerly known as the North Cascades Basecamp, integrates wilderness, cultural, and academic experiential learning.