The History of Grandview Heights Schools
Grandview Heights High School opened for the first time on September 17, 1923 (Photo: Grandview Heights Marble Cliff Historical Society).
Almost 120 years ago, the Grandview Heights City School District was established. The first class of seniors in the district graduated in 1911, and it consisted of five girls and two boys. The current class of seniors as of 2026 has 13 times as many students, which is just one example of how much GHHS has grown since then. So many things have changed and improved along the way, and its important to step back and recognize how far Grandview has come as a community.
It all started in 1906, when Grandview split away from Marble Cliff as a separate village. In May of that year, Grandview Heights school district was organized, and the first members of the Board of Education were established. The first item of business was to improve the quality of the first school in Grandview Heights, the Harding School. The Harding School was located at the corner of Fairview and First Ave, and had only two rooms that were later expanded to four. This school was the only one in Grandview for a few years, until the need for more space prompted the construction of the Grandview Elementary School (later renamed Edison Elementary). When the building was completed, the Harding School became the new high school.
But, by 1917, the students had already outgrown these facilities. Enrollment in the district by this time had grown to almost 530 students, with high school enrollment alone increasing by 446% in a five-year period. For the 1917-1918 school year, grades one through three were put in the four room school near the corner of 5th and Broadview (named the Fifth Avenue School), and grades four through eight in the elementary school on Fairview, and the high school students were still in the Harding School.
The following decade, though, had some of the most dramatic growth in all of Grandview Heights history. A quote from the local newspaper in 1920 states, “...we need a new building and more equipment. The school has an increase of 20% over last years enrollment. We feel like a boy who has outgrown the capacity of his knee breeches… Before long the question arises what will we do next.”
This overcrowding in the district was a real issue for a while, but it was partially resolved when the Village of Upper Arlington was approved by the Franklin County Board of Education to establish a separate school district. They built a temporary four room building at the corner of Arlington Avenue and Tremont Road, which contained grades one through nine throughout the building. They opened this school in October of the same year it was approved, taking 56 kids out of the crowded Grandview schools, with plans to immediately build a more permanent building, which opened in September of the following year.
In 1922, there were 725 students enrolled in the Grandview Heights school district overall. This prompted the board to ask for a levy to fund a new combination high school and middle school. The plans were presented for review in January, and the levy passed in November. This new building was a big deal because it included a gymnasium and auditorium, which were rare things for a school to have at this time.
According to an article from February of 1922, “(the building) is designed to meet all the needs of the childs school life… With the completion of the building, gymnasium periods will be as much a part of the work in school as English or Mathematics.” This, along with the promise that the building will be open to the public during the summer months, raised excitement among the community.
Construction began immediately, and Grandview Heights High School opened for the first time on September 17, 1923. The building was amazing, and it fulfilled all the previous promises of the gym and auditorium, and the new school even housed the Grandview Public Library on the second floor, which later moved to its current building on First Avenue. Containing 22 rooms, and designed to accommodate 600 students, the school board was pleased with this school. The board was already thinking ahead to expanding the school campus, so between 1922 and 1924 they acquired the property to the north of the high school, which is now used as the athletic fields.
Since the high school was now adequate, the school board switched their focus over to a new elementary school being built across town. A proposed levy to build this new school passed in November of 1925, and groundbreaking took place on January 7, 1926. This school would be recommended by the children to be called Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School. There were initially twelve rooms, and the building allowed for expansion on each end, though it wouldn't be needed until 1930. RLS Elementary opened in the fall of 1926.
Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School opened in the fall of 1926 (Photo: Grandview Heights Marble Cliff Historical Society).
All of these improvements made Grandview what it is today. And even now, we are expanding and updating our schools. LMS was rebuilt, the high school was renovated, and Stevenson will soon be getting completely redone. Its important to remember the history of these schools, especially when they are being torn down, because we wouldnt be here learning today if it wasnt for the very first members of the school board, and the very first students at this high school.