Mariner High School (Everett, Washington)

Prior to the construction of Mariner High School, the Mukilteo School District only offered education from kindergarten through ninth grade. As a result, students within the district from tenth grade onward had to attend Everett High School in the nearby Everett School District; Cascade High School provided a closer option when it opened in 1961. At the time, the school district was considered too small to operate a high school, having only operated two incarnations of Rosehill School on the Mukilteo waterfront from the first one's opening in 1893 until the opening of Olympic View Junior High School in 1956, but it was reconsidered as south Everett began to expand in the 1960s.[2][3][4]

When Mariner opened in 1970, Olympic View Junior High was its only feeder school, but it began to also receive students from Explorer Junior High when that school opened in 1973.[2][5][6] This setup remained until the 1993 opening of Kamiak, at which point the district switched from junior high to middle schools, with the district adding two of the latter in the process. This meant the addition of ninth-graders to the student body of Mariner for the 1993-94 school year onward; it also meant that Mariner would no longer have a monopoly on all junior high/middle school students entering high school within the district.[7]

Just weeks after the September 11 attacks and the start of the 2001 anthrax attacks, Mariner was evacuated on October 10 when pepper spray was released into the school's ventilation system. Everyone inside was moved to on-site Goddard Stadium around 10:50 AM, just minutes after numerous health complaints from students were made; classes were eventually canceled for the rest of the day. 30 students were sent to Providence Everett Medical Center for treatment; all were released later that day without any major injuries.[8] A year later, a medical emergency occurred on October 3, 2002 when 16-year-old student Sarah Dotson complained of a headache, then collapsed at 8 AM during her first-period computer class. Despite the school nurse performing CPR on Dotson until paramedics arrived, she died shortly after arriving at Providence Everett Medical Center; her death was announced on the school's public address system at around 9 AM. Medical examiners discovered that Dotson had an enlarged heart and a coronary artery condition; they ruled out infection or contagious disease in her death.[9][10]

Mariner underwent a renovation and expansion in 2001 that added 28 classrooms to the school. Funded via a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and designed by the DLR Group, the new classrooms were grouped into clusters of four and five to facilitate smaller learning communities.[11]

On September 14, 2018, a fight that broke out in a parking lot at Goddard Stadium escalated into a drive-by shooting during an evening football game between Mariner and cross-district rival Kamiak. The shooting occurred in the fourth quarter, with the stadium subsequently evacuated. Investigators later determined that the shooting was gang-related; it was the latest of 82 gang-related shootings that occurred in south Everett since January 2015.[12][13][14]

For the 2019–20 school year, Mariner honored its 50th anniversary by holding a celebration prior to its (football) homecoming game against Mount Vernon High School on October 11. District administrators attended the event along with school alumni and former school employees.[3] However, the school's anniversary was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic; the district temporary closed Mariner on March 2, 2020, due to a student's parent testing positive for COVID-19 before permanently closing all its schools for the rest of the school year on March 12 under the statewide mandate of Governor Jay Inslee.[15][16]

Mariner competes in the WESCO[17] 4A Conference, their rivals include Everett High School (Everett School District) as well as Henry M. Jackson High School and Cascade High School (Everett School District).

The Marauders football team led the group towards the WIAA[18] State Tournament in 1998, however fell short of a championship title losing to Capitol High School. Thus, Mariner boys basketball showcased their talents as top contenders at the 1998-1999 Hardwood Classic finishing 3rd in state playoffs. The Marauders football team made WIAA[18] State Tournament appearances in 2006-2007, then again by the following season 2007-2008. Meanwhile, Marauders boys basketball team made three consecutive trips to state in 2006-2007, 2007–2008, and the 2008-2009 seasons. In addition, Mariner Marauder soccer team competed in two WIAA State Tournament in 2010-2011, then again 2015-2016 which both resulted in tough losses finishing the season as quarter finalist. Nonetheless, Marauders football established their program by making three straight postseason appearances from 2014-2015, 2015-2016, then again 2016-2017. However, Marauders of 2016-2017 were victorious on the road against highly touted Kennedy Catholic High School resulting 51-6 in the regional matchup; Making their first appearance in the 4A WIAA Gridiron Classic, since the previous decade.

• Baseball
• Basketball (Boys and Girls)
• Cross Country
• Cheerleading
• Dance
• Football
• Golf (Boys and Girls)
• Soccer (Boys and Girls)
• Fastpitch Softball
• Swimming (Boys and Girls)
• Tennis (Boys and Girls)
• Track
• Volleyball
• Wrestling
• Football School Records
• Larry Stovall-Moody 60 yard field goal (1996)

Mariner High School was a recipient of the Achievers Scholarship which was funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This scholarship was provided to Washington State's (and Washington D.C.'s) high crime, low-income areas. Most of the Achievers schools were focused in urban areas: Tacoma, Seattle and Everett. There were 16 Achievers schools, unfortunately the Achievers Scholarship program has ended, the last cohort being the Class of 2010. The scholarship program made a significant and positive difference in the lives of myriad Mariner High School graduates.[20] This high school contains a variety of backgrounds and cultures that led to it being the most diverse high school among South Everett. Being related to that, a new after school club was created in the school year of 2017-18, which is often only seen in community colleges and universities. This after school club is named M.E.Ch.A ( (Spanish: Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán) (English: "Chicanx Student Movement of Aztlán"), this after school club is organized by two students of color from the graduating class of 2019. Who offer an outreach to first generation students attending higher education. Mariner High School M.E.Ch.A contributed with Voyager Middle School [21] and its 8th graders getting ready to transition into high school. (M.E.Ch.A JR.)

• Brian Sullivan (politician), former Mukilteo city council member (1986-1989), Mukilteo mayor (1990-1997), former member of the Washington House of Representatives, and current member of Snohomish County Council.
• Mary Lambert (singer)
• KeiVarae Russell, current Cincinnati Bengals cornerback
• Lamont Brightful, former pro football player

• Mariner High School