The original Reuther High School was begun in a UW-Extension Center building located at 39th Avenue and Washington Road. Students and faculty from the Tremper Night School program were shifted to the newly created Reuther High School, which had been designed as a magnet school for alternative education. In 1980, following expansion and renovation of the former UW-Extension building, Reuther High School and Mary D. Bradford High School (formerly Central High School) swapped facilities. Mary D. Bradford High School took up residence in the newly remodeled and expanded former UW-Extension building. Reuther moved to the former Mary D. Bradford High School located on Sheridan Road and 57th Street, where it still exists today. It was originally known as Reuther Alternative High School until the summer of 1991 when it adopted the name Reuther Central High School, a nod to the building's former name as Central High School. Over the years, Reuther Central High School has undergone several changes to accommodate curriculum and teaching style.