Our school was named after a beloved Edinburg school teacher, Betty H. Harwell. In her early years, she worked in a rare book store where she acquired the love of modern and classical literature. Her experience in this area, laid the foundation for her passion behind Advanced English curriculum. In the early 1960's, she was hired as an English teacher at Edinburg High School where she taught English V, and challenged the norm by teaching from Greek Tragedies to Shakespeare to Mark Twain to Robert Frost. During the 1960s, when the nation was torn by civil rights struggles and war protests, she taught students that it didn't matter where they came from as long as they worked hard and did what was right. She earned a Master's in English from Pan American University in 1977. After retiring from the Edinburg School District in 1988, she taught English Composition at Pan American University. In 1999, the Edinburg CISD honored her memory by naming Betty Harwell Middle School after her. The school's motto is Achieve and Succeed, which Betty Harwell epitomized in her life and in the lives of all the students she touched. Today, Betty Harwell Middle School stands as proof that The Legacy of Excellence continues both today and for generations to come.
