An Idaho Daily Statesman story on November 19, 1911, noted "The pupils and patrons of the new Pierce Park School will give a house warming at the school building this evening, when a delightful program and refreshments will be enjoyed. The building has been used for the last two weeks, but the formal opening was postponed until this date."

Pierce Park School stands today where it has since its opening. The land was acquired from W. E. Pierce in 1911 for $1.00. The conditions of the agreement stated that the land must be continuously used for a school, without one year's lack of use. If the agreement was violated, the land reverted to the heirs of W. E. Pierce.

W. E. Pierce was a developer in the area that developed a recreational area called Pierce Park, and was the President of Boise and Interurban Railway Company Limited, which ran down Valley Road (State Street) and throughout the valley.

Pierce Park School was known as District #18 of Ada County, Idaho. It was governed by three Board Members, with one new member each year for a three year term, and one member leaving the board each year. The Board Members hired the teachers, prepared budgets, were liable for curriculum, and had the responsibility for all items important in offering the best possible education under the laws and funds available.

The school house was built in the center of a 1.5 acre lot. The building was completed in October, 1911, with school beginning in early November. The building was a four room structure with two rooms on the main floor, and two rooms on the second floor. The school had a basement, which was used for supplies, and in later years housed the furnace. The school also had a bell tower, which had a bell that the children loved to ring.

District #18 was a busy school with a full load of students (40-50), and was also the location for a church gathering each Sunday. The two rooms upstairs were used each Sunday for religious ceremonies.

In the Spring of 1938, the school day was made longer and even extended to Saturdays, and the school year was over early. The original white brick building was torn down that summer, and a new building was constructed as a WPA project. The building was completed in time for classes to begin in the fall of 1938.

The new structure(which is still used today) had all the markings of a WPA project; it was a cement building with all the electrical wiring on the surface. The building was plain with a flat roof, and not much cosmetic design. It had four rooms and four restrooms. The structure was divided by a main hall with two classrooms on each side. Students in grades 1-8 attended school at Pierce Park.

District #18 was annexed into the Boise Independent School District in 1947. The eight grade school became a six-grade school; seventh and eighth graders attended to Boise Junior High (now North). As the Pierce Park area started to grow, the four rooms became insufficient, and in 1952, two more classrooms were added to the south side of the building, along with a principal's office, new furnace room, library, stage, kitchen area, and gymnasium. The school district purchased some more land at this time, and the play area was moved to the rear of the school grounds. Another six classrooms were added in 1960 to the north side of the 1938 structure.

In the mid-60's, the stage/library was converted to a special education room, the gymnasium was remodeled into a library, and the kitchen became a teacher preparation room. In 1970, an addition was made which included a new gymnasium with a stage and a new kitchen. This addition is to the south of the 1952 addition.

Eventually, further growth made it necessary to remodel the 1970 stage into two classrooms for special education. In 1976, one portable was moved onto the grounds to accommodate the kindergarten program.. Portable classrooms proliferated - four more were relocated on the grounds in 1984, and another in 1986. The portables are all located in the back/playground area of the school, with the exception of the last portable, which is in the front of the school.

Finally, in 1990, Cynthia Mann School opened two miles away on Castle Drive, and Pierce Park's population dropped temporarily. However, as northwest Boise continued to grow, so did the student population at the two schools. Voters approved a bond issue in February, 1996, which funded the construction of Shadow Hills school to the west of Pierce Park on Gary Lane.