Safety Harbor Historical Site: Safety Harbor School

Safety Harbor Historical Site: Safety Harbor School. . The first Safety Harbor School opened in 1907 as a two room frame building behind the present day fire station. The school included grades one through eight. In 1916, a new red brick three story school house was constructed at its current location. By 1926, the school needed to expand. New larger classrooms and a 500 seat auditorium with state of the art flood lights on the stage were added., By 1936, the school population expanded to grades one through nine and additional buildings were added. In 1942, the playground was plowed, and the students planted a Victory Garden. The food that was grown was used in the cafeteria for school lunches. Fire and bomb drills became a way of life for the students. After world war two, the school population steadily increased and the first kindergarten class was added in 1948., In 1961, the school board approved a six million dollar bond issue, and the original 1916 building was razed. The 1926 additions were remodeled, and a 14 classroom wing was added. In 1962, the Safety Harbor School became an elementary school as grades seven through nine were moved to the middle school., In the mid-60s, the Lincoln Heights School was closed, and African-American students were integrated into the Safety Harbor Elementary School. In 1968, a single unit kindergarten pod was added, then a three room pod was added in 1984 due to a sharp increase in kindergarten students., Safety Harbor Elementary School and the City of Safety Harbor have forged a strong working relationship over the years. The school auditorium is still used today for many other programs and functions.