Harris Elementary School

Harris elementary is like a second home for me. The staff have always been welcoming and come from such diverse backgrounds. The school has been through changes in the past couple years, but has really made the improvements it needed to become an amazing campus. This school has so much culture & brought in so new staff that provide fresh new styles for all students. This school has so many great iniatives & FREE programs that are put by great supporters including VIDA clinic (free on campus therapy), Community in Schools, Andy Roddick Foundation's (Free Afterschool & Summer program), & UT Neighborhood longhorn program (enriching students to become College Ready), as well as the wonderful teachers who strive for excellence both in the classroom & with the campus as a whole.If you have not visited Harris before and seen the greatness for yourself, come by or join a meeting to see all the awesome things we have going on.

My son started kinder this year at Harris and is currently enrolled in the two-way Dual Language Spanish Program. Even though we are only a couple of months in as parents, we spent nearly two years getting to know the campus, leadership, and teachers, and we were smitten. Test scores and campus ratings only tell one story, and usually an inaccurate one at that. Our one concern was how virtual learning would impact his first school experience, especially in a language other than English, which is what we speak at home. After the first few days, our concern disappeared. The experience and command over the virtual and in-person classroom of our teacher is incredible. The students are curious and bright and engaged. The academic and extracurricular programs are robust and thoughtful. I’m in love with our neighborhood school and encourage all students and families zoned to Harris to learn about this great school and come join the bulldog family. I’m more than happy to talk more - reach out to me! My name is Shaleiah Fox.

We love this neighborhood school. Harris Elementary's strengths are in its administrators, teachers, and families. I was lucky enough to visit and volunteer at the school last year before my daughter started and there is a positive feeling in the air from staff and students. This year, however, my daughter had to start kindergarten online due to COVID, so I don't get to go inside the building anymore. However, the school has been organized (our online schedule works well and there have been few changes), communicative (weekly parent newsletters and fast replies from principal and teacher), and supportive (dedicated technology advocate works with families who need help). The school's challenges lie in gentrification, housing, socioeconomic inequities in our city and country. As a result of those challenges, they don't have great test scores, but I'm confident that my child is getting a good education, is in a safe space, and is happy.

This school needs better office worker's more English classes and help teach English to parents who don't understand the languag. This school is not preparing my child for college my husband and I are.This school only care for Hispanic not any other race