Harrisburg Academy, the 17th oldest non-public school in the country, was founded in 1784 by John Harris, Jr., in a room of his mansion, right, now the Dauphin County Historical Society, South Front Street, Harrisburg.

Harris brought in a schoolmaster from Lancaster to teach his and his neighbor’s children. Soon after, he granted “the rent, issues and profits of his ferry for the endowment of an Academy where German and English should be taught.”

Two years later, with donations and materials from Harris and more than 80 of his neighbors, a log cabin school was built on a knoll 300 yards east of the Susquehanna River, probably behind the Harris mansion near Walnut and Third streets.

On April 4, 1809, the State Legislature officially chartered the Academy under the Law of the Commonwealth as “an academy or public school for the education of youth in useful arts, sciences and literature

In 1947, under the leadership of Headmaster Raymond Kennedy, the Harrisburg Academy merged with The Seiler School for Girls to become a coeducational institution.

The Academy opened for classes at its current location on September 28, 1959.

Today, Harrisburg Academy is an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational day school with a diverse population of students from 3-year-olds to 12th graders. Students hail from six Central Pennsylvania counties and several foreign countries. The school has more than 100 employees and operates on a $7 million budget. Fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges and the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools, Harrisburg Academy belongs and ascribes to the policies and best practices of the National Association of Independent Schools.

A five-year strategic plan, Challenge 2013, will guide decision-making as Harrisburg Academy continues to serve the needs of Pennsylvania families of all backgrounds for a challenging education that both nurtures and inspires. Rooted in the past, prepared for the future, Harrisburg Academy has a unique role to play in the greater Harrisburg region through its longstanding commitment to helping every student explore, discover, and achieve his or her full potential. 

Source: Standards Must Equal The Best by Gerard E. Martin.