Hawthorne School has served in various shapes and sizes on different sites. The original Hawthorne, built in the late 1880's, began as a two room school near the corner of Mobley Drive and Warm Springs Avenue, in what is now East Boise. This building was removed and another partially constructed before annexation to the Boise District in 1907. The replacement building was abandoned in 1932 and the land reverted back to the Coston Estate.

From 1932 to 1951 there was no Hawthorne School in the District. In 1951, with the growth of subdivisions just south of Overland Road and north of Victory Road, a new school was needed. Fourteen World War Two barracks were converted to classrooms and moved onto a site on the corner of Vista Avenue and Targee. Four years later, plans were drawn for an 18 room school building to be placed on the east side of the present site.

Funds would only permit construction of five rooms of the permanent building in 1956 and it was not until 1961 that the present version of Hawthorne was completed. A south wing was added in 1966. Hawthorne is an 18 room school with a multipurpose room, library and office complex. The school has a large play area.

Over the years Hawthorne had a problem with leaks in its flat roof, and in 1988-89 the school was completely remodeled, inside and out, and a new hip roof was constructed. The remodeling was funded by passage of a 1988 override levy.