Buildings in a four-block area were demolished to make room for the school and playground, which was built according to an open-plan design.

ESL instruction began at Reiche in 1981 in response to an influx of Asian immigrants in the school's neighborhood after Portland's designation in 1980 as a refugee resettlement city.

The students spoke 27 different languages other than English in their homes, including Arabic, Spanish, Somali, Khmer, Vietnamese, Serbo-Croatian, and Acholi.

[8] In both 2003 and 2004 it was listed as failing to meet federal standards under the No Child Left Behind program.

[11] In June 2011, Reiche announced it would become a teacher-led school, forgoing the more common principal leadership.