Gazette: Harrison D-2 celebrates 150th anniversary with a look back at its history

By Eric Young eric.young@gazette.com

It was 150 years ago Tuesday that Harrison School District 2 opened its first school, and the community highlighted its past while looking toward its future.

“Our ethos has been about providing opportunities for students and inviting the community in to partner,” D-2 Superintendent Wendy Birhanzel said.

To mark the district’s sesquicentennial, administrators welcomed students, alumni, faculty and other community spanning generations to its building with mementos and artifacts preserved over the years.

Jeff Anderson, senior adviser to U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, read a statement on his behalf acknowledging the district for the Congressional Record.

“Education is one of the most important pillars of our society and, today, Harrison School District 2 stands out as an exemplary partner in providing a high-level of education to the El Paso County community,” Lamborn wrote to the 118th Congress.

The school district began its organization Aug. 20, 1874, two years ahead of Colorado becoming a state and three after Colorado Springs became a town. Italian and English immigrant homesteaders along Fountain Creek decided to start a school for their numerous children with the Bates School.

Named after President Benjamin Harrison, Harrison School D-2 is the second-oldest organized school district in El Paso County.

As Colorado Springs developed over the years, so did the district, as it grew from a single school with 14 students to a 23-school district with over 13,000.

The district’s history and development over the years were prominently displayed throughout the district’s Board of Education meeting room, with archived newspapers, yearbooks, school T-shirts and other assorted memorabilia presented for onlookers.

D-2’s official financial records and board minutes also were taken from its archives for attendees to observe.

Beverly Diehl graduated from Harrison High School in 1962 and would become a teacher for Colorado Springs School D-11 and later a librarian for the Pikes Peak Library District.

Although she recognized fewer faces at the celebration Tuesday night, she has always remained close to her fellow classmates.

“We got together and celebrated our 50-year reunion and our 60-year more recently,” she said. “We’ll celebrate our 70-year reunion, too, if we’re able.”

Rachel Laufer, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, has spent 20 years with the district occupying various roles and said the unique sense of family and community in the district has kept her there for all these years.

“I originally came from California and a more affluent district, where you kind of knew that those kids were going to be all right,” she said. “But here, everyone is so close, and you really feel that you make an impact with these students.”

Speeches and photo ops with current and past board members were followed by current D-2 students opening a time capsule from 1999 on its 25th anniversary.

What was found inside is about what one might expect from late ’90s school children: Pokémon cards, a Beanie Baby and a VHS tape.

The capsule also included a daily edition of The Gazette featuring a Denver Broncos story on the bottom of the front page.

“So not much has changed,” Birhanzel said.

The capsule will be succeeded by another one full of items to remain closed for 50 years until the district’s 200th anniversary.

Despite the momentous occasion, Birhanzel pointed out that they opted to mark the day with a more intimate event along with follow-up events throughout the year.

“Some have asked, ‘Why not a big gala or a big communitywide carnival?’ I have an important answer to this question: We have to be excellent stewards of every taxpayer dollar, and we have to provide top-quality for our 13,000 students,” she said.