Applying to Delta

Delta begins the recruitment process each year in December.  We send teams out to visit each of the RSD, KSD, and PSD middle schools in  January and early February.  Please ask your middle school counselor when the Delta session is scheduled at your middle school. 

We will also have two informational sessions for families held at Delta.  The sessions will be held on 2/4 and 2/5 at 6:00 pm.  Please attend whichever session works best for your schedule.  Tours of Delta will be available as well.

Delta is a small, STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math) high school serving students living within the boundaries of the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts.  Check out our "About Our School" page for more info!

Well, yes and no!  We are a STEM-focused school and, as such, attempt to focus on STEM connections throughout our course of study.  We also have very strong programs in English, Spanish, and History.  In fact, we annually participate in National History Day competitions and send students to regional, state, and national competitions.  Pretty awesome, right? 

Good questions!
(1) Students must live within the boundaries of one of our three partner districts to apply to Delta High School.
(2) If you live in one of our districts but are homeschooled or attend a private or virtual school you may apply to Delta!  If you are accepted we will request that you enroll in your boundary school district and then we will transfer your records to our system.  You will technically be enrolled at your local high school but will complete your high school program at Delta.  Your HS diploma will be from your home high school, but your transcripts will show that you completed your high school through the Delta STEM program.

Delta is a four-year STEM program and it is our expectation that students enter Delta with the intention of completing the four years at our school.  There are limited seats and if you leave we are not able to pass your seat to another student.
However, by accepting a seat at Delta we only require that students commit to one year at a time.  The transition to high school is challenging regardless of where you attend and by committing to one full year we believe this will give you the best chance at a successful HS transition.  At the end of each year students are asked to sign a one year commitment contract for the following year. 

Schedules for the two schools (Tri-Tech and Delta) do not work in conjunction with one another, so the two schools cannot be attended at the same time.  However, many Delta students do choose to take part in Tri-Tech summer courses and those credits are transferrable to Delta.

The answer is, "yes!"  However, Delta's Running Start program is different than what you would find via your boundary high school.  Due to our extensive College in the High School (CiHS) offerings, Running Start students attend Delta for 80% of their program (4 classes) and Columbia Basin College (CBC) for the remainder (1 class).  There are very specific required courses at both Delta and CBC that must be taken.  Of the 90 Qtr credits that make up the A.A.-D.T.A for example, 60 credits are comprised of our CiHS courses and 30 credits are taken through CBC to obtain residency status.  CBC accepts and transfers over our CiHS credits and then awards the A.A.

Please see our College in the High School page for more detailed information.

Please note that students must qualify to take all necessary classes by meeting minimum testing requirements (requirements are set by CWU and EWU).  Additionally, staffing changes and other factors could result in some CiHS courses no longer being available to students.  Delta will work to support a successful path for students to meet the AA requirements from CBC but acknowledges that we cannot guarantee availability of all courses on our campus each year, and we cannot guarantee class availability each term at CBC.  

Only students currently in 8th grade during the 2024-2025 school year may apply for admission to Delta for the 2025-2026 school year.

If you are a current 9th grade student and would like to be considered for entry into 10th grade, please email our principal, KC Bennion, and let her know of your interest.  We can consider adding a few students to start in 10th grade, based on space available AND we need to be able to review your coursework taken in 9th grade and ensure we can build you a schedule that will successfully put you on a path to graduation. Delta is a Trimester based school, so we will need to review your transcript in addition to your interest.

Good question!

Delta students are still technically students at their home (boundary) high school! As such, they can get an ASB, attend dances and other events, and participate in after-school activities like Band and Sports.  We have a large number of our students that participate in activities at their home high school each year.

However, this is a big commitment.  Delta lets out at the end of the day about 30 minutes after most of our other area high schools.  Busses transport you back to your schools, if needed, but you will be arriving at practices fairly late.  Coaches at all of our area schools understand this and have been very supportive of Delta students.  To have the best opportunity to get to practices on time we recommend students drive themselves, parents pick up their student and transport to the home high school, or younger students can find an older (driving age) student to help.