Everett High students take part in grad walk tradition

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 10, 2026

EVERETT — Everett High School seniors walked through the halls of Jackson Elementary School on Tuesday to take part in a grad walk celebration before they graduate later this week.

The grad walk, a yearly tradition for Everett high schoolers and elementary kids, brings high schoolers into the halls of their former elementary schools, where young students cheer them on to celebrate their upcoming graduation.

The group of students who participated in the Jackson Elementary grad walk on Tuesday will be the last to do so in the current building, constructed nearly eight decades ago. Its replacement, in the process of being built, is expected to open in time to for the 2026-27 school year.

“I think we love to see that the work we put in years ago is paying off as they’re finding this great success and moving on out,” said Darren Larama, the principal of Jackson Elementary.

On Tuesday, cheering children filled the halls of Jackson Elementary to welcome about 10 future graduates of Everett High School, waving pompoms and passing out beaded necklaces. The young students drew posters with messages of congratulations for the group of soon-to-be graduates.

By the time the students reached the end of the walk, they were surrounded by a group of elementary kids handing out an array of drawings, red beads and other gifts to the Everett High School Seagulls.

Marlen Mercado-Ayala, who took part in the grad walk, said her preschool-age sister came to watch.

“Seeing my little sister, it was so sweet,” Mercado-Ayala said. “It was hard not to cry.”

Mercado-Ayala plans to take a gap year before attending Everett Community College with the goal of eventually transferring to a four-year university. She hopes to go into early education.

Jackson Elementary students will move into a new building, constructed as part of a $54 million replacement project, at the start of the 2026-27 school year. In 2026, the old building, originally constructed in 1948, will be demolished to make room for a new gymnasium.

Larama said the old building had served the community well for a long time — nearly 80 years — and had seen thousands of students go through its halls and out into other schools in the area. But he is excited about the prospect of the new school building, which will include improved design features like better ambient lighting, more open space, new breakout areas and an elevator for accessibility.

“All the cool things that you get with new construction will still be there, but the design of it will support learning in kind of a new way that’s new for us here,” Larama said.

Jackson Elementary’s replacement was funded by a $325.5 million capital levy approved by voters in 2022.

Everett Public Schools will host an event at 5:30 p.m. Friday allowing current and former students, staff or families to walk through the halls of Jackson Elementary, located at 3700 Federal Ave. in Everett, to recognize the building’s history before its replacement opens.

Everett High School’s graduation begins 3 p.m. Saturday at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.

Clarification: A previous version of this article stated that the current Jackson Elementary School building would be demolished by 2027 to make way for the new gymnasium. It will be demolished in 2026.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.