Building History

Karshner Elementary School
1328 8th Avenue Northwest
Puyallup, WA 98371

Karshner Elementary School opened in 1953 and is located in west Puyallup, west of Meridian Avenue and north of Stewart Avenue. A major addition to the school was completed in 1962. The entire school was modernized in 1989. This remodel was a state matched project with local funds coming from the 1984 Bond Issue.

The school was named after Dr. Warner Karshner, who was a well-known doctor in Puyallup. Before becoming a doctor, he taught at Spinning School for a few years. Dr. Karshner was also a member of the state legislature for 12 years. He was always a supporter of the value of education.

Dr. Karshner and his wife traveled extensively throughout the world bringing many interesting souvenirs back to Puyallup. With those souvenirs, they founded the Karshner Museum in memory of their deceased son. The Museum is located in the old Stewart School Building, located in east Puyallup, east of Meridian Avenue and north of Main Avenue East.

The permanent school building was designed with a total of 12 general-use classrooms, one (1) pre-first classroom, one (1) kindergarten classroom and a number of smaller specialty instructional spaces. In addition, the school has one (I) of the district's prototype play sheds. In 2012, the building received a Building Assessment Score of 68, compared to a districtwide rating average of 76.4. It became eligible for state matching funds for modernization or new construction in I ieu of modernization in 2009.

On July 5, 2020, a fire significantly damaged the east wing of the Karshner building, among other areas. For the 2020-21 school year, Karshner Elementary was housed in the former Firgrove Elementary building on South Hill. Restoration was completed at Karshner and the opened to students in September 2021.