Home of the Irish
Riddle School District
The Riddle School District has provided education for area students for more than 130 years, teaching students the skills and offering opportunities that prepare them for life.
Whether students are learning to weld, how to collect scientific data, or are exploring arts, music and other interests, Riddle staff and the district are committed to providing an excellent, well-rounded education to prepare our students for their futures.
Riddle Junior/Senior High School serves 7th through 12th grade. The school mascot is the Irish. The Riddle JR/SR High School’s main building, is the third school on the site since the district’s 1884 founding, and was built in 1935 to house all grades. Locker rooms and upstairs classrooms were added onto the main high school, north of the gymnasium, in 1959. In 1963, the brick annex at the high school was added.
Riddle Elementary School serves kindergarten through 6th grade. The school mascot is the Panthers. The current elementary school was built in 1949. Riddle Elementary is an active, busy place where lots of learning experiences are provided.
Our Vision & Mission
Riddle Schools: A positive place for active learning! At Riddle schools, we provide students with the opportunities and skills to become strong leaders, effective workers, positive communicators, and citizens of the world. These skills include critical thinking, group work, leadership, problem-solving, communication, organization, developing positive relationships, developing positive character, technology, memorization of information, locating information, and application of information.
Our History
Riddle School History
In 1882 Riddle School District 70 was founded, and a one room school house was built to teach grades 1st through 8th. Prior to the one room school house, classes were taught at homes of local citizens and even in the back room of a local saloon.
The school we currently occupy was opened on October 19, 1936 to great fanfare. Thirty-four high school students occupied the rooms to the left of the current office. The Riddle Annual first started and the ‘hangout’ was the shop class. The big attraction was the new gym. It was the most modern gym in the county with the exception of Roseburg. Since many schools did not have a closed off gym, Riddle took advantage of the gym by turning up the heat. The Irish finished their basketball season going 13 and 1.
Our Local History
Riddle was founded in 1893 by John B. Riddle. John named the city for his ancestors, the William H. Riddle family from Springfield, Illinois who settled on one of thirteen land claims that were made available in the Cow Creek Valley in 1851. The Cow Creek Valley was also referred to as the Missouri Bottom and was 4 miles long and 2 miles wide. The Donation Land Claims were 320 acres in size and by 1852 nearly all of these fertile agricultural lands were claimed.