Home of the Panthers
Hazel Dell started out as a one-room schoolhouse built in 1882.
In 1895, the school moved east across the road. Student attendance was as frequent as the farming lifestyle would permit. Early accounts of the school recall it being postponed for prune harvesting.
Another school was built in 1907; this time the school contained two rooms, a pot-bellied stove to warm students, a water pump and outdoor bathroom facilities.
The population increase led to another school being built in 1948. The newest school contained four classrooms, an office, furnace room and indoor lavatories. During World War II, the school held classes in shifts.
In 1956, Hazel Dell School District No. 53 consolidated with Vancouver Public Schools. Between 1958 and 1968, the school received many additions, including a multipurpose room, kitchen, media center and six-room primary cluster.
Other historic moments:
March 2002—Construction is underway on new Hazel Dell Elementary, thanks to a bond measure that passed in 2000.
March 2003—The new Hazel Dell Elementary is dedicated.
Fall 2009—Hazel Dell is one of nine schools to receive an Energy Star Award for energy efficiency from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Summer 2020—Construction is underway on the Family-Community Resource Center renovation, roof replacement and HVAC upgrades
2023—Hazel Dell has been named a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by FranklinCovey Education.