Harbor Heights, in partnership with parents and community, promotes educational excellence by preparing all students, academically and socially, to make choices that meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Our Beliefs:

In order to nurture each child’s growth and development, and foster a lifelong love of learning:

• We believe in developing higher level thinking skills so our students will be wise decision makers and capable problem solvers.

• We believe in creating a child-centered environment in which students are active learners, deserving dignity, respect, and recognition for their efforts and achievements.

• We believe in equipping our students with the necessary skills to meet the demands of a technological society.

• We believe in providing a physically and emotionally safe environment so our students will have the confidence they need to be successful in life.

•  We believe in fostering and modeling high expectations for students and staff through collaboration and collegiality.

• We believe in celebrating the rich diversity in ethnicity, social, and economic status of our learning community.

•  We believe in a continually evolving curriculum that reflects current and best educational practices.

• We believe in teaching and learning that is intentional and purposeful so that all learners will move to their full potential.

• We believe in empowering students to be:

On task

Respectful

Cooperative

Accountable

Safe

Improving Education:

Harbor Heights continues to focus on improvement of instructional practices and excellence in student learning. Our focuses for the 2011-2012 school year are literacy and building community.

Harbor Heights, in cooperation with our very active PTA, offers many programs throughout the year to enhance students' academic skills and broaden their exposure to a variety of cultural programs.  Our Read and Lead program (coordinated by the PTA) emphasizes the importance of reading. It is led by parent volunteers, and is an annual success. The goal, which about 80% of our students reach, is to have students and parents read together aiming at 1000 minutes each.  PTA, for the last three years, has also sponsored the Missoula Children's Theater giving approximately 40 students a chance to perform on stage.

PTA also sponsors many activity nights (family dances, Bingo and movie nights, etc.) that bring families together in the school. Five years ago a new program, “Hands On Art” was introduced and brings in local artists to train parent docents in a particular art concept.  These docents then teach the lesson in the classroom.  HOA has been very successful and provides a way for many parents to work in the classroom.  If you are interested please contact the school for more information. 

Harbor Heights' annual “Imagination Celebration”, (this year, our 17th, will be on May 18, 2012) brings in members of  the community (along with classroom teachers and support staff) to work with students in small groups to teach and share a wide range of art, science, first aid, and a variety of other skills.

Many other school wide programs, Jump Rope For Heart, Arbor Day, happen throughout the year.  Harbor Heights has its own in school news network (HHNN) which involves over 50 students who produce a morning daily news program.  Circus Club, run by our PE teacher Mr. Rucci, is a group of 30 4th and 5th graders who meet weekly starting in the spring (8:00 AM ,Fridays) to learn to ride unicycles, walk on stilts and learn/practice other skills with the ultimate goal of being in the annual Gig Harbor parade in June.

Staffing:

The staff at Harbor Heights believes in educational best practices so our students will have the greatest opportunity for optimal learning. They routinely attend workshops, district in services and conferences to increase and enhance their teaching skills. Individual students’ needs are met with a wide variety of instructional approaches, such as team teaching, multi-age and “looping” (where students stay with the same teacher for two years). 75% of the staff have their Master's Degree and four teachers are National Board Certified.

We honor individual differences and recognize that students have different learning styles. We use a variety of teaching approaches (such as cooperative learning, theme teaching, individualization, integrated studies) to meet the learning needs of each child.

Parents and community are a vital part of our program as we work together for the betterment of our students. Harbor Heights is committed to our students and their future as adaptable, responsible, contributing citizens of our changing world.

Harbor Heights has always made its site available to parents, community and businesses. The PAA (Peninsula Athletic Association) uses the gym and fields for basketball, soccer and baseball.  For scheduling information, please call 530-1800.

The present Harbor Heights site was constructed in 1990-91 when the location was moved from Grandview Street to 38th Street. The new facility provides 20 classrooms, library, restrooms, kitchen, health room, computer lab, stage, commons, gym, and other required areas. In the summer of 2004 eight new classrooms were added with the installation of new modular buildings.  Harbor Heights and Goodman Middle School were constructed adjacent to each other to maximize the use of parking, fields and common use areas. Emphasis was placed on ensuring multiple usage of areas in order to increase the use of the construction funds and versatility of the building.  During the summer of 2004, new and safer playground equipment was installed with funds supplied by the PTA.

L.A.P Program

The L.A.P. (Learning Assistance Program) at Harbor Heights Elementary School provides instruction to qualifying students in the area of reading. The instruction is designed to enhance the classroom reading program, and does not replace the student’s classroom instruction. L.A.P. is funded by the state of Washington. This year 18 first grade students and 20 second grade students participated in the small pull-out groups. In addition, we also have a before school program to help struggling readers in grades 4-5.

How To Get Involved

Parents and community members are encouraged to volunteer at Harbor Heights in many ways. The PTA is active in helping parents and community enter into the school picture. This group is involved in organizing fund-raising activities, helping with special school events, and sponsoring school assemblies. The PTA also supports academic achievement through programs such as "Read and Lead," as well as helping around the school and in the classrooms. For information about joining Harbor Heights Parent-Teacher Association, please call 530-1800.