Over crowding at Lakewood High School caused the Board of Education to purchase property on Hilliard Road at the corner of what is now Woodward Avenue for the building of a third Junior High School. Plans were drawn and a contract set for construction when President Harding, an Ohio resident, died in San Francisco. The building was named in his honor. The Lakewood Kiwanis Club donated a magnificent picture of President Harding to the school on its dedication day.

So, in September 1925, Warren G. Harding Junior High School opened to 700 students in grades 7, 8 and 9 at an approximate cost of $436,000.

Mrs. Harding later sent a letter to the Board of Education expressing her pleasure with the plan and saying that a no more fitting memorial could have been designed.

An auditorium was added in 1927, additional classrooms in 1960 and a gymnasium in 1988. Harding Junior High was renamed Harding Middle School in 1970.

Today Harding Middle School houses approximately 520 wonderful students in grades 6, 7 and 8 and has 65 exceptional certified and non-certified staff members. We offer all academic subjects as well as many related arts courses. Our students have the opportunity to join many clubs and organizations as well as play in interscholastic athletics.