Harper School 75th Birthday

J.R. Harper School opened its doors on September 14, 1942. Harper School is named after J Robb Harper, the longest tenured Superintendent of Wilmette School District 39, who served from 1908-1942, for a total of 33 years. The formal dedication took place on September 27, 1942.

Eight Wilmette citizens purchased the original five acres of land in 1929 and held it in trust until the Wilmette Board of Education could afford the purchase. Bonds equaling $35,000 were issued in 1929 but the school district had no intention of building for several years, sighting “there were not enough school children in the area west of Ridge Avenue to justify a school building”. The Board of Education purchased the five acre site at Dartmouth and Greenwood in 1935.

The original school accommodated 202 students, from 168 families, in grades K-6th. It contained seven classrooms, one per grade, in addition to a gymnasium, cafeteria kitchen, auditorium with seating capacity of 150, three offices, and a library. The Harper library contained 300 children’s books and also housed a branch of the Wilmette Public Library to provide better library service for residents in this section of the village. The gym also served as the cafeteria. Folding chairs and tables for eight were set up daily for lunch, which was served from 11:30-12:30pm. About half of the enrolled students stayed for lunch. Financed by a bond issue, Constructions costs in 1942 were reported at $168,000.
In 1942, the school day began at 9:00am but dismissals varied by age and season. Earlier dismissals were customary in the fall, gradually lengthening as the children became adjusted to the school routine. Kindergarten was offered in half day sessions.

There were two additions to Harper School. The first opened on September 11, 1949, which nearly doubled the capacity of the building by creating 14 classrooms, two classrooms for each grade. The new wing included a cafeteria, five classrooms, two craft rooms and an enlargement of the auditorium. The cost of the first addition was $225,000, and enrollment in 1949 was 219 students.
The second addition was erected in 1956 at a cost of $106,000. A breezeway connected the original building with two new kindergarten rooms and a second gymnasium which was built on top of them. Enrollment had reached 416 students.

Harper remained a K-6 school (and when space permitted, offered a nursery program on a fee basis), until the fall of 1970. At that time, Howard Junior High School was enlarged to accommodate 6th, 7th and 8th grades.

The third addition to Harper was completed in 1992 for a cost of $768,500. It was a two-story addition at the northwest corner of the building creating four new classrooms, serviced by an elevator. The addition was required to accommodate Harper’ increase in population and transfer of students from the redistricting from Romona School. Enrollment in the early 1990s was 320 students.

In 2016 Harper opened the “Dolphin Den” Learning Commons which combined flexible library, “Maker Space” and “Steam Lab” technology center.