• Tanners Creek History

    Hathaway Duke Construction Company began work on the school on June 26, 1989.  The design of the building was a collaboration of desires among architects (Williams, Tazewell & Assoc.), parents, teachers, administrators, specialty people and school plant personnel.  The result is a state of the art building that accommodates all instructional programs.

    The school was built to relieve overcrowding in the eastern portion of the city.  The student population came from Sherwood Forest, Larrymore and Norview elementary schools.  The staff were hand selected by the principal and came from other Norfolk Schools and other localities.  The first administrative team, Principal, Carolyn P. Sands and Assistant Principal, Kenneth Russell were selected by the Superintendent to serve the Tanners Creek community.  As a school, the selected mascot became the Koala. 

    During the 1994-95 school year, Inez A. Blount-Mason was assigned the principal of the school. In the school year, 2003-2004, Mrs. Blount-Mason was assigned to Lake Taylor Middle and Kathleen R. Mein was assigned as the principal of Tanners Creek School.  Dr. Mein retired in 2012.

    Maritsa Alger was assigned as principal, after serving Willard Model Elementary School for eight years.  Since Ms. Alger’s assignment at Tanners Creek Elementary, she has worked side by side with the following assistant principals---Celeste Jones (current principal at Monroe Elementary), Mikelle Williams (current principal at Kempsville Meadows), and today she closely works with Rhonda Harris to provide the best education to the students in the Tanners Creek community. In 2019, Ms. Alger retired after serving Tanners Creek for seven years.

    On July 1, 2019, Ms. Rhonda Harris was assigned as the 5th Principal of Tanners Creek.  Ms. Harris currently works alongside with Assistant Principal, Ms. Julia Wilshire. Together they have over 40 years of experiences. Every day, they strive to ensure the success of all the children that pass through the doors of Tanners Creek.

    Tanners Creek Elementary School continues to serve pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students.  Tanners Creek is committed to promoting a safe, responsible, and respectful environment for ALL students.  Still today our Koala students, staff, and community work hard to build a strong community of leaders for the future.  You will find high engagement levels among all learners, a growing number of students who are reading independently, problem solvers and a community that celebrates the arts.