Home of the Hornets
The very first Harney school was erected in 1890 to serve the 200 children who lived east of the barracks. This school was a wooden two-story structure with a belfry. The bell now stands in front of the current-day Harney.
In 1914, a parent-teacher association was formed in order to help fundraise for library books and textbooks.
In 1922, a second Harney was built just south of the original building. During the Depression, a parent-teacher organization helped open a cafeteria to serve food.
During the war years of the 1940s, the school experienced overcrowding with the influx of shipyard workers’ families. The school double-shifted classes to accommodate students.
Construction to replace the 1922 structure began in the 1965-66 school year.
Other notable history
August 1991—A campaign begins to establish computer learning centers at several elementary schools, including Harney.
February 1994—Voters pass a bond measure that funds a rebuild of Harney Elementary School.
1996—The current-day Harney opens and is dedicated.
September 1999—Harney’s fourth-graders are chosen for the I have a Dream program in Southwest Washington. They are the third class to be selected in district.
September 2008—The Spanish Immersion Program begins at Harney with two kindergarten classes.
2010—The school’s Family-Community Resource Center opens.
2013 and 2014–Harney received the 2013 and 2014 School of Distinction Award for showing sustained improvement in reading and math over a five-year period.
2020— Four new classroom additions completed; secure entry and Family-Community Resource center completed. Thanks to a bond measure that voters approved in February 2017.