Treem Elementary School named for pioneering Henderson educator

For the last 20 years in Henderson, Jan. 2 has been proclaimed Harriet Treem Day.

The longtime Henderson resident and educator was known for her dedication to students, a reputation that also led to her becoming the namesake of a Henderson elementary school.

Treem was born in Palisade, Eureka County, on Jan. 2, 1907.

After graduating from high school, she attended Albion College in Idaho. She eventually returned to Nevada to continue her education at the University of Nevada, Reno.

In 1943, she, her three children and husband relocated to a small townsite where the workers from Basic Magnesium Plant set up housing.

Two years later, she started work at Townsite Elementary School.

After the town site was incorporated in 1953, she continued to teach, moving to schools including Valley View High School and Basic High School and McCaw Elementary School.

Her dedication in the classroom was recognized many times, such as in 1965 when she was one of seven teachers chosen as a representative sampling of Excellence in Education within the Clark County School District.

She was then awarded the Epsilon’s Rose of Recognition and given a lifetime membership in the Parent-Teacher Association.

But her dedication to education and child welfare wasn’t confined to the classroom.

According to the school district, there was a child who was unable to physically attend school. Treem took it upon herself to go to that child’s home and teach him three days a week.

Even after she retired in 1971, she couldn’t keep away from students. She remained a substitute teacher for 13 years.

Beyond the classroom, she became a charter member, and later the vice president, of the sorority Delta Kappa Gamma.

Treem also served as the president of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, the secretary to the Democratic Party organization and a member of the Eagles’ Auxiliary Association in Henderson.

Her accomplishments put her in good standing with the community, and people began to petition it honor her by dedicating a school name for her.

According to Penny Ramos-Bennett, a spokeswoman with the school district, the name dedication was approved in 1988 and approved in 1991.

The school is at 1698 Patrick Lane.

Along with the school name, during Treem’s 84th birthday celebration, Henderson Mayor Lorna Kesterson announced that the city would honor her name each year.

“For years you willfully acquired responsibility beyond measure and beyond recompense in the quest of developing and training the inquisitive minds of youth through the education system,” college Roy Theiss said at the dedication, according to the Green Valley News.

Treem died at age 88 on Feb. 7, 1995.

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.