Our History 

Bryant Elementary was the first elementary school built after Washington became a state. The original Bryant school was built in 1891 and named after William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), a journalist and poet who is remembered for his poem "Thanatopsis". We have been in our current site since 1962, and began our process of becoming a Montessori school in 1998 with the support of a Federal Magnet Grant. Situated in the heart of "Upper Tacoma" (also known as "the Hilltop"), our school community mirrors the neighborhood around us, with a rich diversity of cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

In the 2001-2002 school year, Bryant had the highest poverty rate in the Tacoma School District at 89.2%. Last year our poverty rate was below 50%. While some of this change is due to the changes in the neighborhood that Bryant serves, we have also been able to attract people from other parts of the city to our school, giving us the opportunity to create a diverse community of children within our walls. The families that are drawn to us value our diversity and share our belief that modeling an environment where different people live together in harmony is a vital life lesson for us all.