Hiawatha Community School celebrates 100th anniversary

Story and photos by JAN WILLMS

A school in Minneapolis marking its 100th anniversary is no small thing and Hiawatha Community School at 4201 42nd Ave. S. is celebrating big-time. On Oct. 15 at 11am, the school will have a program, carnival and block party to honor the occasion.

“The students are very busy learning songs through the decades,” said Deb Regnier (photo right), Hiawatha principal. “They’ve been learning songs from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. There will be dancing as well.”

“The fifth graders have been working in pairs or small groups, writing and reciting about what school was like in the 1920s.”

Regnier said that a lot of former staff, parents and students have been invited. There will be a carnival and block party, with food trucks on hand.

“We’ll have a bouncy house and carnival games, just a fun day to celebrate,” she added. There will be 100-year t-shirts and buttons, with a design created by one of the parents.

Regnier said that Hiawatha and Howe Community Schools have been validated as Minnesota Schools of Excellence by the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association (MESPA).

This prestigious honor was awarded to Hiawatha and Howe Community Schools for their commitment to 21st-century teaching and learning. She said the Oct. 15 celebration hopes to also acknowledge this award.

Regnier said that information about the early formation of Hiawatha School in 1916 is scarce. She found that it had been built in a residential area surrounded by family dwellings. There were 16 classrooms. An addition was built in 1923.

Photo left: A mosaic at the school reflects Hiawatha Community School’s commitment to students and the community.

“The room we now use as an ESL classroom was used as a library and had an outside door,” Regnier said. “People could come in that door and check out books, so it was used as a community resource at the time.”

Functioning as a community resource has been part of Hiawatha’s long tradition. The school currently is home to 290 students in K-2. Included are some High Five students--youngsters who had not yet reached the age of 5 by September.

In 2013, Hiawatha was filled and more space was needed. Howe School, which was closed in 2005, was reopened to accommodate grades 3-5 from Hiawatha. Howe, 3733 43rd Ave. S., has 190 students enrolled.

Regnier, who said this is her 33rd year in Minneapolis schools, started off at Anderson and was a teacher there for 22 years. She was assistant principal at Nelly Stone Johnson and has been principal at Hiawatha for seven years.

Photo right: The school currently is home to 290 students in K-2. The school population is 60 percent white, 20 percent African American, 20 percent Latino and a few Native American and Asian. 

“This is a strong community,” she said. She noted how much people like Hiawatha as a neighborhood school. “Many parents have said they remain in the community so their kids can go to school here, even if the houses here are small. That says a lot.”

She said the school population is 60 percent white, 20 percent African American, 20 percent Latino and a few Native American and Asian. “It’s a nice mix, like a community,” said Regnier.

She said Hiawatha offers a fabulous playground, built with funds raised by the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). “We have a brand new kitchen, with food cooked onsite,” she added.

Regnier said there is a lot of technology in use at Hiawatha, with every grade level having an iPad cart and laptop cart to share, and a computer lab. There is a sound announcement system in every class.

Hiawatha/Howe has a GEMS/GISE program to promote engineering, math, and science for girls and science and engineering for boys. There is a Legos club for kindergarten students.

“There are a lot of family nights,” Regnier said. “Right now, the PTO is holding a garage sale to raise funds for students to attend a camp.”

On Fridays, students earn pencils and are awarded for being “Bucket Fillers.” Regnier said these are acts that students perform to fill someone else’s bucket. “Maybe Jesse noticed someone was sad and helped him or her, or Oliver shared a toy with friends. We also recognize a staff person every week. We do a lot of positive reinforcement.”

Regnier said they are hoping lots of former staff, students and parents, as well as those currently connected to the school, will be able to attend the 100-year celebration.

“They can take a walk down memory lane,” Regnier noted.