In the late 1880s, the town of Palo Alto had only about 1,400 residents. It would be nearly another 100 years before the term “Silicon Valley” was coined and the area became known as an innovation hub. In 1890, Congress had just established Yosemite as the nation’s third national park and Stanford University was in its infancy.
However, the need for students who were well prepared to go on to Stanford and other top universities was evident. So, in 1893 at the behest of Stanford’s first president, The Harker School was founded by Frank Cramer as Manzanita Hall, a college preparatory school for boys. Miss Harker’s School for Girls, founded by Catherine Harker, followed soon after in 1902.
This article first appeared in the Harker Magazine Commemorative Anniversary Issue, celebrating 125 years, published July 2018.
Our Founders
Near the turn of the 20th century, three individuals had the foresight and fortitude to begin and lead two schools dedicated to the academic and moral development of young people. They founded Manzanita Hall and Miss Harker’s School, the eventual union of which became The Harker School.
Frank Cramer Frank Cramer, a pioneer educator and civic leader with a lifelong interest in the sciences, was one of the earliest residents of Palo Alto. He graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., in 1886, and taught in Wisconsin for several years before moving to California to continue his education at Stanford University, from which he earned a master’s degree in zoology in 1893.
While Cramer was at Stanford, he was encouraged to start a college preparatory school for boys by Stanford’s first president, David Starr Jordan, who was concerned about the fledgling university’s need for superior incoming students. Cramer founded Manzanita Hall – briefly called the Palo Alto Preparatory School for Boys – in 1893 as a day and boarding school for boys.
As its owner and principal, Cramer placed recruiting advertisements in newspapers across the country, promising – upon successful completion of the school’s rigorous curriculum – entrance to Stanford without examination, as students at Manzanita Hall were thoroughly prepared for university work. By the fall of 1894, the school had enrolled 40 boys.
The Harker Sisters Catherine Harker, a native of Portland, Ore., and a graduate of Vassar College, recognized the need for a preparatory school for girls near Stanford University, as did David Starr Jordan. In 1902, she founded Miss Harker’s School for Girls, which emphasized exceptional scholarship, character and leadership. Its motto of “Non ministrari, sed ministrare,” meaning “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” reflected a commitment to serving the common good that continues at The Harker School today.
In addition to her administrative duties, Harker taught Latin and mathematics, drawing on her previous teaching posts at Curtner Seminary and Mills College. Sara Harker, an accomplished pianist and violinist with interests in business, travel and humanitarian work, arrived in Palo Alto in 1907 to become a silent business partner at her older sister’s school. She also was director of its music program. In 1931, she became principal of Harker’s lower school. After Catherine’s untimely death of a heart attack on school grounds in 1938, Sara became headmistress of Miss Harker’s School, continuing in that post until her retirement at the age of 84 in 1952.
FRANK CRAMER
Founder of Manzanita Hall
1893-1902
“Santa Clara Valley is literally the land of flowers, fruit and sunshine. Baseball, football and tennis the year round. Educational trips to the wonders of California. Only manly boys with highest recommendations taken.” – From a 1901 advertisement placed by Cramer.
LEROY DIXON Head of Manzanita Hall
1902-1919
“Manzanita Hall is in the Santa Clara Valley where there is every incentive to work. … [The school] prepares for Eastern Universities as well as Stanford. A growing school for growing boys.” – From a 1906 advertisement Dixon placed in “The Sunset”.
COL. RICHARD P. KELLY
Superintendent of Palo Alto Military Academy
1919-1950
“We enroll boys of five or six years to fourteen or fifteen – grammar grades only – no high school. You can easily understand what this means if your boy is young. He will find here the friendliness and sympathy of a good home, combined with a discipline not surpassed in any school. He will find a larger variety of interests suitable to boys of his age than he ever had before.” In a parent letter dated Sept. 1, 1925.
THE HEADS OF HARKER
CATHERINE HARKER
Founder of Miss Harker’s School
1902-1938
“A meticulous scholar whose daily lessons were carefully organized … and who reassured her students with a contagiously delightful sense of humor.” – From “The Echo,” Miss Harker’s School yearbook.
SARA HARKER
Head of Miss Harker’s School
1938-1952
“Her leadership is one of enthusiasm, sincerity, and high ideals. … She places strong emphasis upon high academic standards, but above all, she values the building of character.” – At the 50th anniversary celebration of Miss Harker’s School.
LAURA SIMPSON
Academic Head
MARY WATEROUS
Administrative Head of Miss Harker’s School
1952-1955
ALICE WILLIAMS
Principal of Harker Day School
1955-1979
“Through the years many teachers here helped to create the spirit of the school. The staff and faculty always work toward the ideal of true scholarship and moral integrity.” – From the October 1971 Harker Barker, the Harker Day School newspaper.
MAJ. DONALD NICHOLS
Superintendent of Palo Alto Military Academy/Harker Day School/Harker Academy
1950-1973
“Where else could you find a combination mascot-watchdog for 112 boys?” – Nichols, about his dogs Ajax, Babo, Hokie, Klute and Dutch, who were affectionately cared for by PAMA cadets throughout the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.
HOWARD NICHOLS
President of Harker Academy/The Harker School
1973-2005
“Our vision has always been to build the best school in the world. I don’t know if anyone can claim that distinction, but we certainly know we are one of the best, and we are only going to get better.” – At the dedication of Nichols Hall, 2009.
DIANA NICHOLS
Head of The Harker School
1992-2005
“In only a few years, Diana has taken this new high school to national prominence in college admission. It’s a truly remarkable achievement and she’s an outstanding leader.” – Sandy Padgett, director of college counseling, at Diana’s retirement in 2005.
CHRISTOPHER NIKOLOFF
Head of The Harker School
2005-2017
“We’re tremendously proud of our century-old tradition of excellence in education, and the international recognition our students, faculty and programs have earned. We believe the best way to prepare our students is to provide the best academic and extracurricular programs possible.” – At the 2016 Night on the Town Gala.
BRIAN YAGER
Head of The Harker School
2017-PRESENT
“While reflecting on our past, we are also excited about what the future holds for our students. We look forward to proudly joining together as a community with a clear vision of each of our important roles in ensuring a world-class education for our students.
This article first appeared in the Harker Magazine Commemorative Anniversary Issue, celebrating 125 years, published July 2018.
The Nichols family provided leadership at Harker for more than 50 years and its impact on the school is immeasurable.
Maj. Donald Nichols, a 1926 graduate of Palo Alto Military Academy, purchased and became superintendent of PAMA in 1950. He transformed Miss Harker’s School for Girls into a coeducational day school in the late 1950s, merged it with PAMA, changed its name to Harker Academy and moved it to San Jose in 1972.
Maj. Nichols’ son, Howard, grew up at Harker. He graduated from PAMA in 1956 and attended Palo Alto High School before earning a business degree from Stanford University. He returned to Harker as a staff member in 1965 and took over leadership of the Harker Academy from his father in 1973.
He and his wife, Diana Nichols, who served as a science teacher, principal and head of school, were the heart and soul of Harker, building it into a prestigious academic powerhouse. Under their leadership, Harker expanded to include high school education in 1998.
Nichols Hall, Harker’s science and technology building, is named in their honor. Howard Nichols passed away in 2008. Diana Nichols, who championed personal development, science and technology, and global education programs at Harker, spoke recently about the family’s experience at Harker. Her comments are paraphrased.
How did you and Howard foster a positive teaching and learning environment at Harker? We wanted to create academic excellence, so we hired the best teachers we could find who were experts in the subjects they taught, even at the elementary level. Teaching is connected to caring about the child, because what happens in the classroom is the single most important thing at the school.
How has Harker’s location in Silicon Valley influenced the school? One of the smartest things Harker has done is take advantage of the area’s brilliant people who are doing cutting-edge things. It’s been tremendous for our students to interact with people who are changing the world.
What is the most significant contribution you and Howard made to Harker? It was our firm belief that children should be treated with love and caring. It’s our responsibility to provide them with opportunities to discover who they are and what brings them joy. We tried hard to set that tone, to let the children know we valued and respected them, and that in turn they should respect other humans.
This article first appeared in the Harker Magazine Commemorative Anniversary Issue, celebrating 125 years, published July 2018.
Harker’s historical commitment to developing students into compassionate human beings who make a difference in their communities is showcased in its many annual outreach programs. At any given time, individual students as well as student-run clubs are organizing drives and reaching out to help local and global organizations. Some of their efforts include sending thank you cards to active service members, adopting families at the holidays, spearheading blood drives, collecting items for the Humane Society, and so much more.
Cancer Walk and Kicks Against Cancer
Two fundraisers benefit cancer organizations. Since 2006, middle school students have participated in a Cancer Walk. They learn about different forms of cancer and prevention strategies, and then take part in the walk, each holding a flag honoring a person of his or her choice who has battled cancer. The students raised $14,000 in 2016. Upper school students host soccer games, sell T-shirts and baked goods, and plan other fun activities during Kicks Against Cancer to raise funds for Camp Okizu, a summer program that offers support and recreational activities for children with cancer. The event began in 2010 and raised $2,756 in 2018.
Food Drives
Lower school students collect nonperishable foodand other goods, supplying about 300 bags of food per year plus many thousands of dollars in cash to St. Justin’s Community Ministry Pantry over the 30-plus years the program has been going. Middle and upper school students collect canned goods at Thanksgiving in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank.
Freshman Service Day
Recent projects for grade 9 students have included trail cleanup at the Coyote Open Space Preserve and Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, and volunteering at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, San Jose Rose Garden, Sacred Heart Community Services and Sunrise Village Emergency Shelter, among other organizations.
Jump Rope for Heart
Each year, lower school students collect pledges fortheir Jump Rope for Heart activity, to benefit the American Heart Assocation. It’s a great effort for the students and they have raised nearly $200,000 since the activity started in 2000.
Community Participation
Along with its charitable outreach, Harker welcomes thosefrom its greater communities – the neighborhoods it shares, students and teachers from other schools, and fans of great speakers and music.
• In 1999, Harker initiated The Harker Invitational DebateTournament, the first Harker-sponsored event to draw upper school students from other schools. By its fifth year, the event drew teams from 20 schools from California, Oregon and Nevada.
• The middle school has held the Diana Nichols MathInvitational since 2001. In 2018, about 300 students from 13 schools attended.
• Each year, Harker hosts the Silicon Valley Computer-Using Educators conference on the upper school campus. Hundreds of teachers and administrators from all over Silicon Valley attend the conference. In addition, each summer, Harker’s technology department hosts teachers from around the Bay Area at the Harker Teacher Institute to hear speakers and attend workshops on classroom technology and other topics.
• In 2004, Harker joined Common Ground, a coalition ofBay Area schools working together to provide parent education to their communities, and hosts one or two speakers per year.
• In 2011, Harker students organized, promoted and hostedtheir first TEDx conference at Harker. This was the first student-organized and promoted conference and it was a resounding success, with speakers of world-class caliber. The event has been held every year since, and about 175 students attended in November 2017.
• The Harker Speaker Series launched in March 2008 andbrings leaders and visionaries from a wide variety of fields to share their expertise or unique experiences with both Harker and the greater community. Speakers have included author Khaled Hosseini, travel guru Rick Steves, Jill Tarter, director of Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence research at the SETI Institute, and astronaut Gregory Chamitoff.
• The Harker Concert Series began in 2011 with a concert by the Marc Olivia Duo. Other acts have included San Jose Opera, Taylor Eigsti, the Gerald Clayton Trio and Afiara String Quartet.
• While most Harker performances are open to the public,Harker musicians and performers also share their talents with the greater community with regular performances at senior centers, shopping centers and festivals.
This article first appeared in the Harker Magazine Commemorative Anniversary Issue, celebrating 125 years, published July 2018.
Here are some of the many remarkable milestones and accomplishments achieved at Harker.
General
• Nichols Hall on the upper school campus was the first LEED Gold certified school facility in Santa Clara County.
Academics
• In 2007, Harker’s team was chosen from among 63 teams nationwide to represent the United States at the J8 Summit, a parallel youth event to the G8 (Group of Eight) Summit. J8 delegates met face-to-face with President Bush and the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom.
Thirty students have been nominated for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program; five have been selected as Presidential Scholars.
Harker students have earned 184 National Merit Scholarships since 2006.
Since 2010, Harker students have taken 11,453 AP exams, with 66 percent (7,540) achieving perfect scores of five and 89 percent earning scores of four or higher.
Harker has produced many stellar mathematicians including one graduate who earned a Ph.D. from MIT and is now a fellow in the math department at Columbia University. Another has been awarded a Soros Fellowship and Harvard’s David Mumford Undergraduate Mathematics Prize.
Contests
Since 2006, Harker has had 85 semifinalists – and three winners – in the Intel/Regeneron Science Talent Search (first place in 2015 and second places in 2006 and 2010). In 2015, Harker had 15 semifinalists, the most of any school in the United States. In 2017, Harker had three finalists, the most of any school in the country.
In 2009, two Harker students and a Harker alumnus earned the top spots in the level four category at the National Japan Bowl in Washington, D.C. For their accomplishment, the team and an upper school Japanese teacher were awarded a trip to Japan to see the country and meet Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado.
At the U.S. Invitational Young Physicists Tournament, Harker students earned first place in 2011, 2014 and 2015; had a finalist in 2016; placed third in 2017; and placed second in 2018.
In 2005, five out of eight qualifying teams at the state finals of the Future Problem Solving Program International were from Harker, the most any school had qualified at that time. Two were upper school teams and three were lower school teams. In 2006, Harker teams took six of the eight possible spots in the state finals, including the only high school team to qualify for the state finals. Two middle school teams qualified for the international finals, and Harker provided four of the eight individual finalists to internationals. In 2007, the Harker middle school qualified four of the eight teams to the state finals and provided five of the top eight finishing individuals, then went on to win the international championship.
Harker students won gold medals at the International Physics Olympiad (IPHO) in 2004, 2009 and 2014. In 2016, Harker students won a gold and two silver medals at the U.S. Physics Olympiad.
At the International Linguistics Olympiad, Harker qualified three students each year in 2009, 2011 and 2012. They earned silver in 2009 and gold in 2012.
A student on the International Math Olympiad team in 2006 won a silver medal; another student participated in 2008 and another was invited to summer training camp in 2016.
Harker students have attended the USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) training camp eight times from 2013 to 2016. In 2016 an alumnus earned a Gold Medal in International Olympiad of Informatics (IOI).
A student was a finalist at the 2016 USA Biology Olympiad.
A student earned a bronze medal at the 2009 China Girls Mathematical Olympiad.
Athletics • In 2007, Harker’s varsity girls volleyball team won the NorCal championship and took second at state.
In 2014, the boys varsity basketball team reached the CCS finals.
In 2017, the varsity boys golf team took second place in its league, was the NorCal champion and took fifth at state. The golf team was the league champion for four consecutive years. • In 2017, Harker’s varsity football team went undefeated until the playoff semifinals. The team’s final 11-1 tally is a school record.
In 2018, Harker’s varsity boys soccer team racked up a 14-1- 3 record for the season, remaining undefeated until the last regular season game.
Harker students hold individual league championships in swimming (2010, 2015, 2017), track and field (2013, 2016), cross country (2013) and wrestling (2011).
In addition, Harker teams have won many scholastic championships based on team GPAs.
Harker athletes have made it to the pros in a variety of sports including golf, volleyball, baseball and soccer.
Performing Arts • Each year, the Harker Conservatory presents both a fall play and a spring musical. Shows have included “Anon(ymous),” “You Can’t Take it with You,” “Urinetown” and “Pippin.” The Harker Conservatory sent troupes to Scotland to perform in the worldrenowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007, 2011 and 2015.
The Harker School Orchestra was the top scoring orchestra at the 2010 Los Angeles Festival of Gold, performed in London’s Cadogan Hall (home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) in 2012, took the gold award at the Chicago International Music Festival in 2014 and performed in New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2017.
In 2007, the Grade 7-8 Orchestra was given a superior rating at the California Music Educators Association ensemble festival. At the same festival, the upper school choral group Cantilena earned its first of many unanimous superior ratings.
Harker has at least two dozen upper school alumni active in performing arts, several professionally. One alumna founded her own Shakespeare company in New York. Another has found success acting in TV series including “Dear White People.” One grad is a full-time opera singer, and one a pop singer.
Business and Leadership
• A mixed team from DECA and Talon, the yearbook, won the nationwide 2018 Herff Jones Marketing Results Challenge, which was to create marketing campaigns to increase yearbook awareness and sales on campus.
A 2015 senior earned first place in the Western region and third in the nation in DECA’s The Stock Market Game.
The middle school’s DECA Idea Challenge team, Insulator Warrior Inc., were global finalists in 2018.
In 2014, following an illustrious career as a lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department, a Harker alumnus was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
One of Time’s “100 Most Influential People” in the artists category, a popular fashion designer attended our middle school, where he learned to sew. Now running his own design house, he has won many awards and was creative director for Balenciaga. His clothing is carried in more than 700 stores including Bloomingdale’s, Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus.
A 2010 graduate co-founded DoorDash, a successful on demand food delivery company. He was named to Forbes prestigious “30 Under 30” list in January 2015.
The founder of nVision, a medical devices company formed to provide better heath care for women, graduated from Harker in 2003. In 2014, Forbes named her to their “30 Under 30” list in the medical category.
Speech and Debate
Harker has one of the largest and most successful speech and debate teams in the country. Students have won multiple national championships and the program is one of the only ones to have repeatedly won sweepstakes awards for teamwide success at the National Speech & Debate Association National Championship, Tournament of Champions and the largest invitational of the year at the University of California, Berkeley.
Student Publications
• Harker’s upper school student publications, the Winged Post newspaper and Aquila online news site, have received multiple awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA).
In 2003, in its second year in publication, the middle school literary magazine, Enlight’ning, earned a silver medal from CSPA. It earned a gold medal in 2005 and the Gold Crown award in 2008.
In 2010, the Winged Post and its online website, talonwp.com, won the CSPA’s Gold Crown award for its excellence in writing, coverage and content.
In 2015, the Winged Post was nominated for a Crown Award and received 10 Gold Circle Awards for news articles.
In 2017, both the Winged Post and HELM, the upper school literary magazine, were named Crown Finalists by the CSPA, and seven Gold Circle Awards were received for news articles.
This article first appeared in the Harker Magazine Commemorative Anniversary Issue, celebrating 125 years, published July 2018.
Throughout its history, Harker has offered programs both inside and outside the classroom that have the power to transform the student experience.
Performing Arts
Harker has long valued the performing arts as integral to education, with the school producing more than 70 annual theater, dance, instrumental and vocal performances. Opportunities are available at every age. For example, Harker began hosting a junior high school drama festival in 1981, which has now developed into annual plays produced by both grade 6 and grades 7-8. And since 1996 students in grade 2 have reenacted fairytales at the Ogre Awards ceremony. Dance has been part of the curriculum since the late 1980s, and has had a prominent place in summer programs, after-school activities and annual Maypole celebrations for decades; the annual middle school show, Dance Jamz, has been going strong since 2005. Instrumental and vocal music opportunities abound, from orchestra to jazz band to musical theater to show choir to a cappella groups. The Harker Conservatory, established in 1998, cultivates students’ artistic talents and its unique Student Directed Showcase began in 2001 to give selected seniors the chance to produce shows and direct their peers.
Athletics
Physical fitness has always been emphasized at Harker, with baseball, football and tennis offered year-round at Manzanita Hall. Miss Harker’s School built a gymnasium in 1921 to accompany its outdoor fields for tennis, basketball and baseball. PAMA cadets enjoyed year-round outdoor sports such as swimming, boating, bicycling and horseback riding. Today, Harker provides developmental, intramural and competitive athletic opportunities for every skill level: nine sports at the lower school, 13 at the middle school and 15 at the upper school. Nearly 70 percent of students in grades 4-12 participate in Harker’s sports program.
Business & Entrepreneurship
Harker’s comprehensive business & entrepreneurship program, formed in 2013, supports student innovators by leveraging the school’s Silicon Valley location. In 2010, students founded TEDxHarkerSchool, an annual conference that features professional and student speakers, mentors and corporate booths, allowing students to learn from and be inspired by Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation. Harker DECA, founded in the 2007-08 school year, prepares students in the business areas of marketing, finance, hospitality and management and has won many state, national and international honors. Harker founded one of the nation’s first high school incubator programs in 2017.
Research and Innovation Harker developed a student scientific research program in 2001, celebrating students’ achievements at an annual research symposium beginning in 2006. Students have embraced hands-on research opportunities, finding success at the national level in programs such as the Siemens Competition and the Intel Science Talent Search. The John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund, established in 2009, and the Mitra Family Endowment for the Humanities, established in 2011, support student research in the humanities. Harker’s robotics team was started by students in 2001 and enjoyed its most successful season in 2016-17, advancing to the semifinals in two regional competitions. Howard and Diana Nichols were visionaries in a real sense, with Diana Nichols owning and driving an electric car back in the ‘80s. The car was used as a teaching tool for both ecological responsibility and the science of a functioning electric vehicle.
Global Education
Harker’s partnership with Japan’s Tamagawa Academy started in 1992, allowing for academic collaboration and exchange visits between the schools’ middle school students. Other partnerships followed with schools around the world, including one with Shanghai’s World Foreign Language Middle School in 2003. Today, students starting in grade 4 participate in more than a dozen school-sponsored trips, first within California, then throughout the United States and internationally as students age.
Journalism
First established as a student club, Harker’s journalism program became part of the upper school curriculum in 2004. The program, responsible for the school newspaper, yearbook and student news website, is nationally recognized, garnering top awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. In 2008, the program expanded to include summer work retreats, taking students to pursue journalism in other locales.
Speech and Debate
The middle and upper school speech and debate teams, whose members have won national awards, teach high-level research skills, critical thinking and leadership. In 2008, a middle school speech and debate duo won the Novice High School Division at the Santa Clara University Invitational. It was the only middle school team at the event. Harker’s middle school debate team has continued to compete against high schoolers and in 2010 claimed the 2010 National Junior Forensic League championship in public forum debate. The team has been going strong ever since. The upper school speech and debate team has won numerous accolades over the years, including national championships in three out of the four events at the National Debate Coaches Association Championship in 2014. In 2016, Harker won the top Overall School of Excellence Award for the fifth consecutive year at the National Speech & Debate Association championship in Salt Lake City. In 2018, Harker qualified 18 students to the national championships.
Summer Programs
Palo Alto Military Academy offered summer enrichment programs of academics, military drills and exercise at the recreational Camp Eldorado in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from 1920 to 1952. Summer programs have continued to emphasize both academic and physical enrichment – from swimming and archery to dance and drama. In the 1990s, Harker began offering extended summer trips to sites throughout California. Today, Harker’s summer programs include the academically focused Summer Institute, and programs in sports and music.
This story originally appeared in the winter 2016 Harker Magazine.
The 2018-19 school year will mark the 125th anniversary of Harker’s founding, and we’re so excited to look back at our history. It seems appropriate to start at the beginning; enjoy this primer of Harker’s roots!
The union of two schools, the Palo Alto Military Academy and The Harker Day School, formed what is today The Harker School. Although these schools began independently, David Starr Jordan, the first president of Stanford University, inspired both.
In 1893 President Jordan, concerned for the university’s need for superior incoming students, encouraged Frank Cramer, a pioneer educator and civic leader, to begin Manzanita Hall, a college preparatory school for boys. The program was dedicated to the premise that the successful future citizen and student of higher education is one who has a broad foundation not only in his classroom pursuits, but also in nonacademic areas. The development of high moral character and leadership qualities was emphasized.
Catherine Harker, a Vassar graduate and a professor of Greek and Latin at Mills College, recognized the need for a girls’ preparatory school near Stanford and founded Miss Harker’s School in 1902, which also emphasized superior scholarship, character and leadership.
In 1919 Cramer’s original school, Manzanita Hall, became Palo Alto Military Academy (PAMA), a school for boys of elementary age under the direction of Richard P. Kelly. In 1955 Miss Harker’s School was reorganized to become a coeducational day school and brochures indicate that the name of the school was changed to The Harker Day School during the reorganization. Donald L. Nichols assumed leadership of PAMA in 1950 and The Harker Day School in 1959, merged the two schools under the name Harker Academy and moved to the present location at 500 Saratoga Ave. in San Jose in 1972. Howard E. Nichols assumed leadership of the school in 1973, dropping the military program and expanding academics and other program offerings.
In 1992, the school name was changed to The Harker School to more clearly reflect the character and diversity of the school. Howard Nichols was named president and Diana Nichols was named head of school. To fill the growing need for exceptional non-religious high school education in the Bay Area, Howard and Diana Nichols planned and implemented the founding of the upper school and Harker expanded in 1998 to begin including grades 9-12. Fully enrolled since its inception, the upper school quickly earned a reputation for excellence. In 2002, Harker graduated the first class of seniors, and graduates continue matriculating to prestigious universities throughout the world. Christopher Nikoloff assumed leadership of the school in 2005 following Nichols’ retirement at the end of the 2004-05 school year.
Today The Harker School still retains the consistent core philosophy of the original schools, and has become a world-renowned academic institution that is eager to continue making a difference in the world.
Dec. 4 marks a historic moment for The Harker School. When The Palo Alto Military Academy and Miss Harker’s School for Girls merged and moved from Palo Alto to San Jose in 1972, the Nichols family took enormous risks in settling the school’s new home in San Jose. More than four decades later, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved The Harker School’s use permit of the 4525 Union Avenue property. “This historic vote moves Harker one step closer towards owning all three of our campuses, and securing the City of San Jose as the permanent home of our wonderful community,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school.
Harker plans to open a preschool in the fall of 2013 on the Union campus and later, as part of a broader strategy of unwinding from the Blackford lease, move the lower school program to Union and the middle school program to Bucknall. At that time the school will own all three of its San Jose sites, each uniquely dedicated to the needs of its students.
“An effort like the securing of the Union Avenue campus is not possible without the help of a great team and the support of the community. I want to thank everyone in the Harker community who leaned in to make this historic accomplishment a reality,” said Nikoloff.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2011 Harker Quarterly.
1893
Manzanita Hall, founded by Frank Cramer at the urging of Stanford University’s first president, David Starr Jordan, is established in a private home at Waverly Street and University Avenue in Palo Alto.
1902
In September 1902, Catherine Harker, also encouraged by David Starr Jordon, opens The Thoburn School, a boarding school for young ladies. The preparatory school for girls is located at Kingsley and Bryant streets in Palo Alto. Initially a high school, The Thoburn School enrolls 80 students in its first year and graduates seven.
In the second year, the school’s name was changed to the Harker-Hughes School when Elizabeth Hughes came in as principal. Hughes stayed only one year.
1904
The Harker-Hughes School comes to be known simply as Miss Harker’s School in honor of Catherine Harker, whose scholarly achievements begin a tradition of academic excellence. Initially a high school, a lower school for girls age 5-14 is added between 1903 and 1921. The high school program is eliminated in the 1950s.
1907
Miss Harker’s School relocates to a 6.25-acre pasture at Harriet and Greenwood avenues in Palo Alto. The same year, Catherine’s sister, Sara Harker, joins the school as a silent business partner. Sara later becomes active in the school’s management.
1919
Colonel Richard P. Kelly, Dr. Greenville C. Emery, Katherine Monroe and Nellie P. Hansen purchase Manzanita Hall and launch the Palo Alto Military Academy (PAMA). At PAMA, in the second academic year, the high school is eliminated and grades 1-8 are taught. High school won’t return to either school until 1998.
Nellie Hanson spends 32 years operating the school’s summer camp, Camp El Dorado, at Alpine Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.
1938
Catherine Harker dies suddenly, leaving the school’s management to her sister, Sara Harker.
1950
Major Donald L. Nichols, a 1926 graduate of Palo Alto Military Academy, purchases the school and takes over as superintendent when Col. Richard Kelly retires after 30 years of leading the school. Nichols brings along Lawrence Torcellini from San Rafael Military Academy as commandant of cadets.
1955
Alice Williams, a teacher at the school, is appointed principal of the Harker Day School, as it is reorganized to be a coeducational day school. Williams is influential in setting the philosophy and direction of the school in keeping with Sara Harker’s vision. Williams continues as principal when PAMA and Harker Day School merge and move to the new campus in San Jose.
1959
Major Donald L. Nichols purchases Harker Day School, located across the street from PAMA. He is simultaneously superintendent at PAMA and president of Harker Day School.
1965
Howard Nichols, son of Major Donald L. Nichols and a 1956 graduate of PAMA, joins PAMA’s staff as assistant commandant, P.E. teacher, athletic director and junior high school coach.
1972
PAMA and Harker Day School merge and become Harker Academy. The new school moves to the Mother Butler High School property in San Jose, now the upper school Saratoga campus. The new property is purchased with a significant personal investment from the Nichols family, and their commitment ensures the future of Harker Academy.
1976
The dedication of the Donald L. Nichols Sports Complex, with swimming, pool, tennis courts and athletic field, is held in May.
1979
Harker Grade 8 students take the first trip to Yosemite Institute.
Principal Alice Williams retires after 29 years of service.
The optional military program is phased out and extracurricular offerings are greatly expanded. Grade 9 is dropped and Harker Academy becomes a K-8 school.
1993
Nearly 100 years after Frank Cramer opened Manzanita Hall, Harker Academy is renamed The Harker School.
Headmaster Howard Nichols is named president of The Harker School and principal Diana Nichols is appointed as head of school.
Dobbins Hall opens in September on the Saratoga campus. The building includes 12 classrooms and two science labs.
1998
The Bucknall campus is purchased in January and opens in September with kindergarten through grade 3. The new Harker upper school opens on the Saratoga campus and admits the first grade 9 students. Adding one class per year, subsequent years brought grades 10, 11 and 12 to the upper school.
2000
Shah Hall opens in September for grades 7-8. The building includes nine classroom and three science labs
2002
The boarding program closes at the end of the academic year. The Harker Academy dorms were home to our boarding students for 30 years. With the opening of the upper school, the building was partially remodeled and named Manzanita Hall, where students now gather to dine.
Inaugural upper school graduation.
2005
Howard and Diana Nichols retire at the end of the academic year in June and Christopher Nikoloff, the associate head, is appointed as head of school.
2007
Davis Field, the first of two major athletic facilities to be completed, opens at the Saratoga campus in September.
2008
Saratoga’s new swimming complex, the Singh Aquatic Center, opens in January.
Nichols Hall, Harker’s LEED certified, 52,000-square-foot science and technology building, opens on the Saratoga campus in August.
Former Harker president Howard Nichols dies in December, aged 68.
2010
The new upper school library opens in August. The 3,803-square- foot facility features an eBeam-equipped classroom, expanded study areas and greater wireless connectivity.
Harker is proud to celebrate nearly a century of excellence in performing arts. “The Princess,” adapted from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem of the same name, was performed by the juniors and seniors of Miss Harker’s School for Girls in 1907 and is the earliest play program held in the archives. It’s clear that performing arts was an essential part of the girls’ education from the school’s inception. The 1928 school catalog notes that the goal of oral and dramatic arts expression is to, “develop self-control and emotional mastery, adaptability, initiative and poise, and to furnish an incentive for the establishment of beautiful speech as a medium of human intercourse.”
Annual spring performances included “Women – Ancient and Modern” (A Farce in Three Acts) in 1911, “Prunella” in 1919, “Rhoecus” in 1920 and “The Arrow Maker” in 1921. During the 1930s and 40s, the school produced one Shakespearean play each year, including “Much Ado About Nothing” (1929), “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1930), “The Comedy of Errors” (1932) and “As you Like It” (1934). Additionally, French language students were required to perform a play in French each year. Throughout the year, all the young women of Miss Harker’s School were expected to participate in a number of one-act plays to “improve their speech and [to experience] the power of expression.” As the school expanded to include younger students, they also performed in various holiday programs and fairy tale adaptations, foreshadowing the annual Ogre Awards of today. In 1944, for a performance of “Osiris, King of the Dead,” the third and fourth grade students each made their own costumes!
In the 1950s, principal Alice Williams wrote many of the plays and skits herself, and the summer program always included a drama workshop for the primary through junior high students. In 1978-79 the student newspaper, The Eagle Examiner, reported that the Drama Club presented “Scaredy Cat” and “Good Manners and Bad Manners.” Then, in 1981, The Harker Academy hosted the first Junior High School Drama Festival, which was conceived and coordinated by drama teacher Erskine Morgan. Competing against Crittendon, Castilleja and Aptos Junior High, Harker won Best Play for “The Rockabilly Nowhere Man.” Morgan also produced the first musical of this new era, “Let George Do It,” with musical direction from Betsy Dods Walsh in 1981, and the Harker spring musical tradition was born. The’ 80s and early’ 90s included such musicals as “Oliver,”co-directed by drama teacher Gina Russ and music teacher Betsy Walsh in 1982; “Annie,” co-directed by Laura Guido (Rae) with Mary Claire Martin and Andrew Willyoung in 1987; “Anne of Green Gables,” co-directed by Crystal Isola and Willyoung in 1988; and “West Side Story,” directed by Donna Morse in 1993.
Laura Lang-Ree joined Harker in 1995 as performing arts department chair to teach acting and public speaking. “In those days we produced about 20 performances each year,” she said. “We now have a staff of 15 performing arts professionals and produce over 50 performances, which include the instrumental programs, Harmonics and Conservatory. In addition to quantity, the quality of productions over the last nine years has been impressive. ‘Pippin’ featured wild pyrotechnics, and ‘You Can’t Take it with You’ was our first full-length straight dramatic performance.” (That play was produced again this last fall.) Lang-Ree also credits the technical theater program, which includes sets, lights, sound and costumes and is led by Brian Larsen, for much of our success. Lang-Ree says, “We are what we are because of Howard and Diana Nichols’ love for, and belief in, the performing arts, which allows me to hire the very best teachers and develop some of the best K-12 arts programs in the country.” Harker received special acclaim in 2002 when the spring musical cast won first place in the American Musical Theater High School honors competition for “Oklahoma!”
When asked about her personal favorite, Lang-Ree quickly cited “Into the Woods,” which has been produced both at the upper and middle schools. “I love it when I can find a musical that is very acting intense and has some kind of message and meaning in the dialogue that I can help the actors uncover.” However, what Lang-Ree says she enjoys most is the growth of a student or a cast as a whole – something the audience never gets to see. “Each year there is always that student, or several students, who blow me away with what they’ve accomplished,” Lang-Ree reflects. “The confidence that I witness being developed through performing arts is awesome.”