Imagine a future Vice President, not in the halls of power, but navigating the bustling streets of Montreal, learning French, and playing the French horn. This is the story of Kamala Harris's middle school years, a time that quietly shaped the leader she would become.
Key Points
- Research suggests Kamala Harris attended middle school at Fine Arts Core Education (FACE) School in Montreal, Canada, during 1977-1978, focusing on arts like music and drama.
- The evidence leans toward FACE School being a bilingual, arts-focused institution, likely influencing her creativity and public speaking skills.
- It seems likely that her middle school experience, amid Quebec’s language debates, shaped her adaptability, though specific school details are less documented.
Where Kamala Harris Went to Middle School
Kamala Harris, born in 1964 in Oakland, California, moved to Montreal, Canada, in 1976 when her mother took a job at McGill University. During this time, she attended Fine Arts Core Education (FACE) School for middle school, likely from 1977 to 1978, covering Grades 7 and 8. FACE School, founded in 1975, was a bilingual institution emphasizing arts education, including visual arts, theatre, and music, where she played instruments like violin and French horn.
This period was significant as Montreal faced language tensions, and FACE School offered a unique environment for creativity. While specific details about her daily life there are sparse, it’s clear this experience contributed to her later leadership roles, fostering skills in public expression and adaptability.
Unexpected Detail: Arts and Language Challenges
An interesting aspect is how FACE School’s arts focus, combined with learning French in a new country, likely built her resilience. This isn’t just about academics—it’s about navigating cultural shifts, which later helped in her political career, especially in diverse communities. Can you picture a young Kamala, juggling instruments and French lessons, laying the groundwork for her future on the national stage?
Survey Note: Detailed Analysis of Kamala Harris’s Middle School Attendance
Kamala Harris, the 49th Vice President of the United States (2021–2025), has a rich educational background that shaped her path to leadership. This analysis delves into her middle school years, focusing on where she attended, the context of that period, and its potential impact on her career. The information is drawn from credible sources, including news articles and historical records, to provide a comprehensive view as of April 2025.
Early Life and Relocation to Montreal
Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, to immigrant parents—her father from Jamaica and her mother from India. Her early years were spent in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was exposed to civil rights and social justice movements, influenced by her parents’ academic careers. By 1970, her parents had separated, and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, moved back to Berkeley with Kamala and her sister Maya. Before middle school, Kamala attended Thousand Oaks Elementary in Berkeley, part of a pioneering voluntary bussing plan for school integration, as noted by the Berkeley Unified School District Statement on Kamala Harris.
In 1976, Shyamala accepted a research position at McGill University’s School of Medicine, leading the family to relocate to Montreal, Quebec. This move marked a significant shift, introducing Kamala to a new educational and cultural landscape. Reports, such as those from The New York Times Kamala Harris in Canada, highlight this period as formative, with Kamala adapting to a city grappling with language debates, particularly the rise of French-language education under Bill 101.
Identifying the Middle School: FACE School in Montreal
Research suggests Kamala Harris attended middle school at Fine Arts Core Education (FACE) School in Montreal, Canada, during the 1977-1978 academic year, likely for Grades 7 and 8. The Daily Mail Inside Kamala Harris’s High School Years reports she started Grade 7 at FACE in fall 1977, taking drama classes and learning instruments like violin, French horn, and kettle drum. The Montreal Gazette Dunlevy on Kamala Harris at FACE confirms she and her sister Maya attended FACE (then called FACES, for Fine Arts Core Elementary School) for the 1977-78 school year, with Kamala in Grade 8. This aligns with her age, as she would have been around 12-13, typical for middle school.
FACE School, founded in 1975, was a bilingual institution run by the English Montreal School Board, as per its Wikipedia page F.A.C.E. School. It emphasized arts education, offering disciplines like visual arts, theatre/drama, vocal, and instrumental music. This arts-focused curriculum was designed to foster creativity and personal development, not to train professional artists, but to build discipline and confidence, as described on the EMSB website Fine Arts Core Education. Today, FACE has over 1,300 students and continues to offer programs from Kindergarten to Secondary V, reflecting its enduring legacy.
The evidence leans toward FACE being her middle school, given the timeline and descriptions of her activities, such as playing instruments and taking drama classes. However, specific details like class schedules or teacher names are less documented, reflecting the private nature of her early education. This period was also marked by Quebec’s language tensions, with many English-speaking families, including Harris’s, navigating new educational options, as noted by The Washington Post Kamala Harris’s Time in Montreal. Kamala initially attended a French primary school, Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, but switched to FACE for Grade 8, likely due to language challenges, recalling feeling like a “duck” saying “quoi? quoi?” all day, as per The National Post Kamala Harris’s Childhood in Montreal.
Educational Environment and Potential Impact
FACE School’s arts focus likely played a role in developing Kamala Harris’s creativity and public speaking skills, essential for her later career in law and politics. The curriculum included activities like jazz band, symphony orchestra, and plays, providing a platform for expression and collaboration. This environment, combined with the bilingual setting, may have enhanced her adaptability, a trait evident in her ability to navigate diverse communities as Vice President. For instance, her memoir and interviews, such as those in POLITICO 55 Things About Kamala Harris, suggest her time in Montreal helped shape her identity, balancing her South Asian and Black heritage.
The impact of this middle school experience can be seen in her leadership style, particularly her emphasis on equity and inclusion, possibly influenced by Montreal’s multicultural setting. The arts, as a learning ground for discipline and self-confidence, likely bolstered her resilience, especially during her later roles as District Attorney of San Francisco and California’s Attorney General, as detailed in Britannica Kamala Harris Biography. For students today, this highlights how middle school can be a stepping stone for future success, fostering skills beyond academics.
Comparison with Other Political Figures
To contextualize, let’s compare Kamala Harris’s educational path with other political leaders, using a table to organize the information:
| Figure | Middle School | Key Educational Influence |
| Kamala Harris | FACE School, Montreal (arts-focused, bilingual) | Creativity, adaptability, public speaking |
| Barack Obama | Punahou School, Hawaii (private, diverse) | Multicultural exposure, leadership development |
| Hillary Clinton | Park Ridge Junior High, Illinois (public) | Community involvement, academic rigor |
Each leader’s middle school experience shaped their worldview. For Harris, FACE School’s arts focus fostered expression; for Obama, Punah
