The Harker School

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The Harker School
Established	1893
School type	Private
Head of school	Christopher Nikoloff
Location	San Jose, California
School Web site	http://www.harker.org
School colors	Green, white, and black

The Harker School is a private, co-educational, non-profit college preparatory school in San Jose, California, USA.

Founded in 1893 as Manzanita Hall, Harker has three campuses, called Bucknall, Blackford, and Saratoga for the streets on which they lie. Bucknall is the Lower School campus, educating kindergarten through grade 5. The Middle School, grades 6 to 8, is on the Blackford campus, and the Upper School, grades 9 to 12, is on the Saratoga campus.

The current administration is led by Christopher Nikoloff, who succeeded Howard and Diana Nichols following their retirement after the 2004-2005 academic year. Howard Nichols is the son of Donald Nichols, who created the present day Harker School by merging the Palo Alto Military Academy in Palo Alto (as Manzanita Hall was then called) with Harker Day School in 1972 and moving to the Saratoga campus. [1]

[edit] Components

[edit] Upper School

The Harker School Seal

The Upper School houses the high school, and is located on the Saratoga campus, the original San Jose campus, where Harker has been located since 1972. The upper school was first opened in 1998, with the first class graduating in 2002. Currently, there are about 700 students in the upper school. A new Science and Tech building is under construction and is announced for completion in 2010.

[edit] Academics

Harker is best known for its rigorous academic environment, boasting one of the best academic programs in the country. In academics, students are regularly accepted into highly selective college programs throughout the country, many going onto prestigious schools such as Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University. Harker students are selected largely based on their academic aptitude. [2] They regularly achieve very high SAT scores. In 2005, they were nationally acclaimed for Advanced Placement test scores for AP Computer Science and AP Chemistry. In 2006, they were again given two top AP program awards, this time in AP Calculus AB and again in AP Chemistry. [3]

[edit] Athletics

Harker offers a strong sports program, consisting of football, volleyball, soccer, track and field, basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, softball, lacrosse, cross country running, swimming and diving, water polo, cheerleading,wrestling, and dance. Unlike many other schools, Harker lets the students participate in sports from 4th grade onward. But, some sports such as lacrosse, diving, tennis, track and field, and tennis are only offered in middle school and high school. Most sports are seprate for girls and boys but some are co. The school is in the Central Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation and is classified as Division IV. Harker also provides the students a lot of equipment to play the games.

[edit] Performing Arts

Harker has developed a reputation as having a strong performing arts program. Its conservatory program allows high school students to "major" in art, requiring them to take certain classes and participate in various events in order to graduate. At the end of their senior year, there is a senior showcase where candidates perform and then receive their certificate at the end of the show. These majors include vocal music, instrumental music, theatre, musical theatre, technical theatre, and dance. The middle school dance troupe, "Showstoppers," is directed by former San Francisco 49ers cheerleader and current dance teacher Kristin Mauer. K-12 dance is run by longtime dance teacher Gail Palmer. The 4-6 grade dance ensemble is named "Dance Fusion."[4]

Vocal groups include the a capella Guys' Gig, the classical and all-female Cantilena, the jazz-focused Downbeat!, and the choir, Bel Canto [5]. In addition, Harker has a play each fall, a musical each spring, and a student-directed showcase each winter. This opportunity allows selected seniors (usually certificate students) a chance at directing. It is similar to a graduate directing class and is a semester long process which culminates in a performance. The 2007 Spring musical Urinetown has been invited to the Edinburgh_Fringe festival. Its instrumental music program includes an orchestra and a jazz band. The Harker Upper School Orchestra has over 35 members. The winter break of 2006, The Harker Upper School was asked to perform in Paris, France for a prestigious parade festival. [6] The dance program at Harker focuses mostly on modern dance and also allows students to choreograph some of the numbers in the annual Dance Production.

[edit] Middle School

Harker Middle School building (Blackford campus).

The middle school is located on the Blackford campus, the former site of Blackford High School. The site was rented starting in the 2005-2006 school year. [7] Before 1998, the eighth grade was the final year at Harker; however, middle school graduates now have the opportunity to choose between matriculating to the upper school or continuing their education at another high school. Uniforms, which are navy blue, are required in the middle school. There is a school meeting every Monday before school ends. Announcements are made, and the student council will address any school issues to the students or teachers. Free dress days occur ever other Fridays with the exception of photography days and certain rehearsals. Full uniform days (known more as assembly uniform) occur every Monday. Many components aid in the shift from the Lower School to the Middle School, including various athletic and artistic programs. This includes a musical group named Harmonics which prepares students for Downbeat! and other vocal groups. One can get into Harmonics by trying out in February of the previous year. However, the requirement is that you have to be a seventh grader or older. Choir is like Harmonics except it is an elective class that you have to audition for. It trains you to get into Harmonics. There is also a performing arts requirement, and this requires that each student must take at least one arts class in order to graduate. The list of classes is: Technical Theatre, Art, Harmonics, Choir, Dance, and Acting.

[edit] Field Trips

Harker offers many wonderful field trips to lower school. Kids visit factories, museums, parks, and historical sites. All are geared towards learning. Starting in 4th grade, the students take an extended field trip These last from 3 days to a week, and this is also geared towards learning. From 7th grade, students go to out-of-state trips, where they are required to fly. These are the trips 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade make during their school year.

 4th - Coloma
 5th - Marine Headlands
 6th - Yosemite 
 7th - Grand Canyon 
 8th - Washington D.C

[edit] Lower School

The elementary school is located on the Bucknall campus, the former site of Bucknall Elementary School. The campus was sold to Harker by the Moreland School District, and first used by the former in the 1998-99 school year [8]. Uniforms based around the color green and the blackwatch plaid print, are required in the lower school. Free dress days occur every other Wednesday with the exception of photography days and certain rehearsals. Full uniform days occur every Friday, and there usually is a special assembly every Friday.

[edit] Tuition

Harker's tuition is high compared to other schools in the Bay Area: a student in kindergarten will have to pay just over $20,000 for one year, while a high school education costs about $25,000 per year. [9]. Tuition cost for Gr. 6-12 include lunch, and all tuition includes extensive after-school offerings, clubs and athletics.

However, it is important to note that not many people can afford The Harker School. As an independent school without an endowment, annual tuition and annual giving cover the operating expenses of the school. Capital campaign projects expand the campus, and groundbreaking on a science and technology center is scheduled for June 2007. The tution increases by about 10% each year.

[edit] Food

Harker's lunch is considered excellent, and one of the best in the Bay Area. Up till 5th grade, the lunch is optional, but a mandatory fee is required from 6th-12th grade. This allows everyone to eat at the school cafeteria everyday of the school year. All faculty and staff recieve a free breakfast and lunch. Dinner is optional, but at a very low cost employees can get a dinner that can feed a whole family.

[edit] External links

• Harker's Home Page
• The History of Harker (from its webpage)