Barnard Elementary School

Alice L. Barnard was the first woman to be appointed principal of a Chicago public school. Although she never worked directly at Barnard, the school w It all started in 1874 when the Washington Heights Public School was built. By 1893, when Washingto...

Alice L. Barnard was the first woman to be appointed principal of a Chicago public school. Although she never worked directly at Barnard, the school w It all started in 1874 when the Washington Heights Public School was built. By 1893, when Washington Heights was annexed to Chicago, the original building had been destroyed by fire, a new building had been constructed, and the name changed to Alice L. Barnard. In 1929, extensive alterations were made in the third floor and our present gymnasium and assembly hall were added. When the school burned down again, in 1939, these additions were left intact, to become part of the present building. Two women are inseparably associated with the history of the school, Elizabeth H. Sutherland and Alice L. Barnard. Mrs. Sutherland was the first woman in Cook County to be appointed principal of a school, receiving this honor in 1883.For forty years she guided and directed education in this community