It is located in central southeast Portland in the South Tabor neighborhood.

Its attendance boundary is expansive, with six middle schools feeding into it[6] and covering a large portion of Southeast Portland, specifically the neighborhoods of Mt.

The city's high schools were filled to capacity at the time, and the population in southeast Portland was rapidly growing.

It was initially founded in part of the Creston Elementary School, with nine instructors and 115 students in the spring 1914 semester.

Of 354 students, 282 graduated, 52 dropped out, five received a modified diploma, and 15 were still in high school the following year.