About Ruth Harman Academy

The land that Ruth Harman Academy sits on was the home of the original Kenosha Airport. From our research, we learned that the airport was purchased from the city in 1940 by a female pilot named Ruth Harman, the first woman to manage and own an airport in Wisconsin. When learning about Ms. Harman’s history, we became fascinated with her and her aviation career. Billed as the “Girl Flyer” for her aerobatics, she was also the first female pilot to fly the mail since the beginning of air mail service. During World War II, Ms. Harman was one of fifty female instructors nationwide-the only one in Wisconsin-to train Navy Cadets in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. She also stood alongside Amelia Earhart in 1936 at Kenosha High School (now Reuther) during the Kenosha Forum Lecture series.

You might be wondering where aviation or flight fits into education. We reached out to Ms. Harman’s family, who currently reside in California, to learn a little more. We spoke with her daughter, Teri Cornwall, and learned that her mother (Harman) loved to teach and education was very important to her. In fact, education runs deep in their family with one of Ms. Harman’s daughters being a lifelong elementary educator, one granddaughter currently a middle school principal, and another granddaughter currently marketing for charter schools. The family gave us permission to use their late mother’s name and asked that we incorporate flight into the school logo to represent the upward trajectory charter schools are committed to in educating students.

Three photos of Ruth Harman: one photo of Harman standing beside a white airplane in front of a hangar labeled "Kenosha Airport, Harman Aviation Service", one photo of Harman posing with another woman, and one photo of Harman standing beside a black airplane.