[7] In 1998 Lynn Olson, author of The School-to-work Revolution: How Employers And Educators Are Joining Forces To Prepare Tomorrow's Skilled Workforce, said that David Douglas was "a clean, orderly, comfortable school, the kind that sprouted up all over the country in the baby boom years of the 1950s and 1960s.

Originally established in 1954, enrollment at DDHS increased quickly in subsequent years as development in suburban Portland expanded, eventually becoming one of the largest high schools in the area.

David Douglas also has a garage for the automotives students located in the far corner of the parking lot behind the football stadium.

Anthony Palerimini, the superintendent, said, "We were doing an excellent job of providing a well-rounded college prep education.

The Oregon Business Council, an organization representing forty chief executive officers from the largest companies in the state, partnered with the David Douglas district in implementing the program.

[13] The AP added that "It may serve as a model for other districts as they forge new ties with the world of work.

Of the 2,729 students 25.9% were Hispanic, .6% Native American, 18.6% Asian, 11.8% Black, 2% Pacific Islander, 34.7% White, and 6.3% Multi.

The Highlander has won the following awards: In 1996, David Douglas was honored as one of the ten original New American High Schools "showcase sites", serving as a model for other public schools around the nation, due in part to the David Douglas Model District Partnership and the "academic constellations" created through Project STARS (Students Taking Authentic Routes to Success).