Harlan Independent Schools

🐉🏀 ROAD GAME, Green Dragons!!

The HMS Dragons are hitting the road this evening as they will travel to Barbourville to take on the Tigers!

Here's tonight's lineup:

🏀 3/4 Grade: 6:00 PM
🏀 5/6 Grade: Following
🏀 7/8 Grade: Following

🐉🏀 Dragon Midnight Madness is Friday, November 20th! Wear black, bring your crew, and help us tip off Harlan basketball season. Doors open at 11:00 PM, and the first 300 people get a blackout T-shirt! We’ll have a dunk contest, a 3-point contest, a half-court shot, mini basketballs, and a 50/50 raffle. Plus, Raising Cane’s and Dirty Alani’s! Let’s pack the gym, Dragon Nation! 🖤💚

💚🐉 A Special Visit to Harlan Independent Schools!

While visiting Harlan High School on October 28 to help present Dr. Tyler Saylor with the prestigious Milken Educator Award, Kentucky Commissioner of Education Dr. Robbie Fletcher also had the opportunity to tour Harlan Independent Schools!

Accompanied by Superintendent Jennifer Parsons, Commissioner Fletcher visited classrooms throughout the district, met with school principals, and spent time interacting with students and teachers. From our youngest learners to our high school students, the visit provided an opportunity to showcase the outstanding teaching and learning taking place across our district each day.

We appreciate Commissioner Fletcher taking the time to visit our schools, engage with our students and staff, and see firsthand the dedication and hard work that make Harlan Independent Schools such a special place.

Thank you, Dr. Fletcher, for spending the day with our Family of Dragons! 🐉

#EveryDayEveryDragon #FamilyofDragons

Congratulations to Mrs. Mary Lou McCarthy, recipient of the Commonwealth Center for Fathers & Families (CCFF) “Drum Major Award”, presented at the 2026 Kentucky Fatherhood Summit!

Through a grant with Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, Mrs. McCarthy is the FRYSC Parent Educator for multiple parenting classes throughout Harlan. CCFF mini-grant funding provided Mrs. McCarthy with the opportunity to coordinate a “Landing On Our Feet” program for fathers in the Harlan County Detention Center Substance Abuse Program, preparing them for a successful transition back into their communities and families.

The Drum Major Award reads “In recognition of your commitment to raising awareness, establishing projects, and creating partnerships in Eastern Kentucky and beyond, especially those efforts that have been dedicated to increasing resources for the engagement of fathers in families, communities, schools, jails, and much more. Further, in gratitude of doing it all with a spirit of collaboration, unity, and overall kindness.” Congratulations to Mrs. McCarthy, and thank you for your work to better our community!

🐉🏀 IT'S GAMEDAY IN HARLAN!! 🏀🐉

The HMS Green Dragons are back on their home court tonight they welcome the Jackson County Generals!! Go Big Green!!

🥎 Lady Dragons Softball Open Field is on this week! Students in grades 5–12 who are interested in playing softball are invited to join us Monday through Thursday from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. See you on the field! Go Lady Dragons! 💚🐉

🎶 Five Harlan High School musicians earned spots in the 2026 SKMA High School All-Festival Band! Congratulations to these Green Dragons on their successful auditions! 💚🐉 🎵 Doug Honeycutt — Tuba 4 🎵 Amelia Bryant — Clarinet 3 🎵 Hayden Lewis — Flute 4 🎵 Aaron Goss — Mallets 1 🎵 Grant Lee — Trombone 3 We’re proud of the work you put into preparing for your auditions and excited to see you represent Harlan!

On Friday, Harlan High School’s Mr. Dakota Saylor took the floor at the SESC ElevatEd workshop to share Chalkboard, a lesson-planning program he built to help teachers plan lessons, create assessments, and prepare daily slides for their classes. We’re proud to see one of our Green Dragons build something that solves an everyday classroom need and share it with fellow educators. Congratulations, Mr. Saylor! 🐉💚

💚🐉 IT'S COMPETITION DAY!! 🐉💚

The hard work has been put in, the hours of practice are behind them, and now it's time to take the mat!! Today, the HMS Lady Dragons head to Whitley County High School to compete in the KAPOS 13th Region Cheerleading Competition!! Best of luck, Lady Dragons - we believe in you!! #FamilyofDragons #MorethanaSchool

🎉 Congratulations to our September 4th Grade Students of the Month! 🎉 We are so proud of you and all your hard work! Keep up the amazing work! 🌟👏

📣 HMS CHEER!! 📣

It's a BIG first for Harlan Middle School Cheerleading!! Our girls are headed to the KAPOS 13th Region Cheerleading Competition this Sunday, November 8th!

📍 Whitley County High School
📅 Sunday, November 8th
⏰ The girls take the mat at 4:25 PM

This is the first year our Lady Dragons have ever competed, and we couldn't be more excited to see them take the mat and represent Harlan!! #FamilyofDragons #DragonAdvantage

If you'd like to grab your ticket early, here is the link for the presale!! https://ticketstripe.com/2026KAPOSRegion13

🇺🇸 Harlan Independent School District Invites You to Our Annual Veterans Day Program! 🇺🇸

Please join us on Wednesday, November 11th, at 9:30 AM in the Harlan High School gymnasium as we come together to honor the brave men and women who have served our nation in the United States Armed Forces.

We are honored to welcome U.S. Army Captain Terry Jones as this year's guest speaker.

This special program is an opportunity for our students, staff, and community to express our gratitude to the veterans who have sacrificed so much to protect the freedoms we enjoy.

We invite all veterans, their families, and members of our community to attend as we proudly recognize and celebrate those who have served.

❤️🤍💙 Freedom is never free. Thank you, Veterans, for your service and sacrifice!

#HarlanIndependentSchools #VeteransDay #ThankYouVeterans #FamilyOfDragons

🐉 Congratulations to the 2026–2027 Harlan High School Beta Club Officers! 🐉

We are excited to recognize our newly elected Beta Club officers for the 2026–2027 school year! These outstanding students have demonstrated leadership, character, academic achievement, and a commitment to serving others.

We look forward to seeing all the wonderful things this group will accomplish as they represent Harlan High School and the Green Dragon family!

Help us congratulate these student leaders! We are proud of you!

(left to right)
Carson Osborne (Junior) - Historian
Cruz Galloway (Senior) - Co-President
Gwen Toll (Senior) - Vice President
Gracie Hensley (Senior) - Co-President
Clarissa Yost (Sophomore) - Secretary
Grant Lee (Sophomore) - Treasurer


💚 Go Big Green! 🤍

Our Dragons finished their cross-country season with plenty to celebrate at the state meet! 💚🐉 From personal-best times to goals accomplished, Coach Alred shared how proud she is of these runners and the work they put in all season. Our two state-qualifying seniors ended their high school cross country careers with personal bests! Gibson Wilder finished in 19:00.48, and Gwendolyn Toll crossed the finish line in 28:55.06. Both gave everything they had in their final race. Harper Carmical finished just 11 seconds off her personal best on a course where she once doubted she could run that well at state. Coach Alred has watched Harper’s confidence grow since middle school and looks forward to seeing her pursue even bigger goals during her senior season. Lillie Carver capped off her comeback season by taking nearly three minutes off her time from last year’s state race and finishing just five seconds shy of her personal best. Her consistency, determination, and growing confidence have been valuable to the team. Cora Jones reached her goal of running in the 24-minute range and finished with her fastest time of the season! Coach Alred celebrated the confidence Cora gained throughout her own comeback season and is excited to see her build on that progress. Seventh grader Audree Mills earned a personal best at her very first state meet! Her enthusiasm and potential have been exciting to watch, and her coaches look forward to seeing her continue to grow in a sport she loves. Josephine Toll finished with her best time of the season while accomplishing a goal that meant so much to her: competing at state alongside her sister, Gwendolyn, during Gwendolyn’s senior year. Josephine finished the season with her best time of the year, and Coach Alred believes she will return next season stronger and more determined than ever. Coach Alred emphasized that the most rewarding part of coaching is watching athletes discover what they can accomplish through hard work, discipline, and perseverance. This group gave their coaches plenty of reasons to be proud. Congratulations to every runner who represented Harlan this season, and thank you to our seniors for everything you have given this team. The future is bright for Harlan Cross Country! 💚

🍂 Reminder! 🍂 Tonight is the Fall Festival at Harlan Elementary School! 🎃 ⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM Come out and join us for an evening of fun! We hope to see everyone there! 🍁

📢 REMINDER! There will be no Dragons Beyond the Bell on Thursday, November 5th. Please join us at the Fall Festival from 5–7 PM! 🍂🎃

Due to the weather, the softball open field has been canceled for today.

🐉 GREAT JOB, HHS ACADEMIC TEAM!

Our Harlan High School Academic Team is off to a great start in SEKAL league competition! The Green Dragons are now 3-3 in league play, including impressive victories over Lynn Camp and Barbourville!

We are proud of our students for their hard work, dedication, and commitment to academic excellence. Keep up the great work, Dragons! We can't wait to see what you accomplish next!

Go Big Green!

🐉🏀 GAMEDAY, DRAGONS!! 🏀🐉

The Harlan Middle School Green Dragons are back in action as they welcome the Barbourville Tigers to Harlan High School!!

Tip-off begins at 6:00 PM with our 3/4 grade team, followed by our 5/6 and 7/8 grade teams. GO BIG GREEN! 🐉