Our History

Holland Elementary School is named for Mabel K. Holland, who served as the FWCS director of elementary education from 1927-1954. She came from a family dedicated to education and was in the first graduation class from Fort Wayne High School, later renamed Central High School. She taught at Jefferson High School and used innovative teaching methods for her time, including using data and advocating for early childhood education. She was also a teacher of teachers, serving as an instructor at Indiana University Center, Indiana State Teachers College, Ball State University, University of Chicago Reading Conference and Saint Francis College.

Holland Elementary has long had a special focus on environmental studies and has a large outdoor lab that was named a Schoolyard Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation in 2005. The lab serves as an important tool in helping students become more aware of the Earth and its natural resources. In fifth-grade, Holland students have the opportunity to travel to North Carolina to participate in a marine studies program. The school has a TheraPlay Center, a therapeutic playground for the school’s special needs students.

Holland is a Title I school and offers the English Language Learners (ELL) program for students new to speaking English. Holland students feed into Jefferson Middle School and North Side or Northrop high school. The school was built in 1964 and is located in the Board of School Trustees District 2.