Our Community
Education Master Plan
Center Campus and Middle School Building
This project will center the student experience and foster greater connection for our community. We will reimagine our Center Campus, creating welcoming spaces for our K-12 community to gather. We will add dynamic learning environments to the Middle School, supporting exceptional inquiry-based, experiential programming.
In recent years, Bush has invested in Lower School and Upper School facilities. Through this building project, we will transform our Middle School and Center Campus. As one of the largest building projects in the school’s history, this project will strengthen our entire K-12 community as we launch into the next century.
- Karim Lessard ’89, Parent of Jack ’22 and Lucy ’28
“The access to belonging that comes from a space like this can’t be overstated. Providing students with a safe space to go and be, we know this will result in stress reduction. We’ve seen it in the New Upper School South Building and we need to bring it to the rest of campus.”
Building Components
- 3-story, 26,000 square foot building in the space of the existing Commons, Main Office, and Middle School language hall
- A larger Commons dining hall seating 250 (previously 128) and serving as flexible multipurpose spaces
- New Middle School space including:
- 6 new classrooms and 2 new labs for the Middle School (allowing for ⅔ of Middle School classes across all three grades to take place in the new building)
- 2 teacher work spaces for Middle School faculty
- 2 collaborative hub spaces for Middle School students and faculty to gather
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EMP Building Rendering
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Preserved Spaces
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Floor 1 Layout
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Floor 2 Layout
PROJECT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
List of 4 items.
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Construction Timeline & Impact
Winter 2026: construction begins (estimated 18 month construction project)Fall 2027: students begin classes in the new building with the start of the school yearDuring construction we want to minimize disruption for all students and especially the Middle School students. Students will stay on campus, and we are exploring how to best utilize the spaces we have in the Republican and Harrison wings and additional space in the Upper School.We are exploring options to provide food during construction for the entire K-12 student, faculty/staff community that the Commons provides. We will move Upper School food service to the Upper School Pantry. Food will be prepared offsite and brought to campus to distribute. We are discussing options to determine where eating will take place, which could include classrooms and outdoor spaces.The current Sixth Grade Wing (along E. Harrison Street) and the Middle School Building along E. Republican Street will remain in-tact. With the majority of Middle School classes held in the new building, the purposes of these spaces will be re-imagined and refreshments will occur. -
Sustainability - Environmental Certification Considerations
We are committed to Salmon-Safe certification across campus. As a leading U.S. ecolabel, Salmon-Safe offers peer-reviewed certification, linking site development and land management practices with the protection of agricultural and urban watersheds.Additionally, we are considering Zero Carbon, Zero Energy, and Fitwell certifications.- Zero Carbon certified buildings are verified by a third-party after a twelve-month performance period to be energy efficient, combustion free (or actively phasing out combustion), and powered by renewals.
- Zero Energy certification allows projects to demonstrate that the building is truly operating as claimed, harnessing energy from the sun, wind or earth to produce net annual energy demand.tion), and powered by renewals.
- Fitwel is the leading rating system for optimizing building design to improve health and wellbeing outcomes. Examples of Fitwel include: implementing best practices in stairwell design to encourage stair use and adopting and maintain an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) policy for the building.
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Board Leadership
The Campus Design and Development Taskforce is chaired by Kathy O'Kelley and Judi Yates.
Trustees who serve on the committee:
Lisa Carroll
Steven Caplow
Salone Habibuddin
Patti Hearn -
Additional Information
As was the case with the Upper School South Building, this project will be funded through a combination of philanthropy and financing. There will be opportunities for the entire community to learn more about the building and how they can get involved as construction nears.
Connect with Us
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the building, please contact Head of School Percy L. Abram, Chief Finance and Operations Officer Rather Stanton, or Assistant Head of School for Advancement Sharon Hurt.
The Bush School is an independent, coeducational day school located in Seattle, WA enrolling 735 students in grades K–12. The mission of The Bush School is to spark in students of diverse backgrounds and talents a passion for learning, accomplishment, and contribution to their communities.
3400 East Harrison Street, Seattle WA 98112 (206) 322-7978
The Bush School does not discriminate in matters of employment, recruitment, admissions, or administration of any of its programs on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. In addition, The Bush School does not discriminate in matters of employment on the basis of age or marital status.