150th Anniversary :: San Diego City Schools

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Celebrating 150 Years
The Nineties

As the age of electronics and technology swept across the nation, San Diego City Schools (SDCS) joined the digitized craze. The birth of the World Wide Web changed how we communicated, shopped and did business, thanks to the advent of email, online shopping and e-commerce. The nineties also meant the first use of online systems for SDCS.

The number of students completing high school was up to approximately 81 percent of the population in 1999, nearly double that of 1960. Educational issues like distance-learning, year-round schools and School-to-Career became hot topics, and many schools began requiring their students to wear uniforms.

1991	The Persian Gulf War (AKA Operation Desert Shield/Storm) is waged by the United States against Iraq for 42 days.
	The U.S.S.R. dissolves, granting 15 separate republics their independence.
	The Board of Education approves the addition of "sexual orientation" to the district's non-discrimination policy.
	The New Beginnings program is piloted at Hamilton Elementary, bringing health and social services to students and families through collaboration between district, city and county agencies. The nationally acclaimed program is used as a model for similar programs in other districts.
1992	California Charter School Act establishes a new option for public schools, and the Charter School of San Diego becomes the district's first charter school in 1994. During the current 2003-04 school year, there are more than 470 charter schools operating in California.
	Second to None, a report of the California High School Task Force, provides policy direction for high school reform.
	The SDCS Translation Services Unit is established and hires nine translators to boost services to parents of 48,000 English language learning students. Languages include Cambodian, Lao, Mung, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
	The World Wide Web emerges into the public forum, bringing with it the creation of e-commerce and expanded email services. By 1994, three million people are online. By 1998, it skyrockets to 100 million people. Today in 2004, the district's email system funnels through more than 200,000 messages daily.
	Proposition O is passed, enabling the district to renovate 27 schools and build 4 new ones.
1993	Expansion of the Advanced Placement and GATE programs results in the increased participation of minority students.
	Boy Scouts are barred from participating in programs during the school day, as other groups had been, in compliance with the Board of Education's non-discrimination policy.
	Bertha Pendleton becomes the first female and first African-American superintendent of SDCS.
1994	President Clinton visits Zamorano Elementary.
1995	Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols kill 168 people during the Oklahoma City Bombing, including 8 Federal Marshals.
1996	California's Class Size Reduction program is established to improve education, particularly in reading and mathematics, of K-3 students.
	Teachers' strike lasts for one week and ends with a boost to teachers' salaries.
1997	Scientists clone Dolly the sheep.
	California approves all-state education standards.
1998	Proposition MM, a $1.51 billion bond measure funding the modernization of 165 existing schools and the construction of 16 new and rebuilt schools, is passed by 78% of San Diego voters as the largest active public works program in the County of San Diego.
	Superintendent Alan D. Bersin is hired.
	Mandatory busing ends in Maryland, concluding a 26-year effort to desegregate their schools.
1999	Two Colorado students go on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School, killing 12 students, 1 teacher and themselves.
	"Y2K" hype creates paranoia about the end of the world and prompts the spending of billions on computer software upgrades.
	Full-day kindergarten is implemented districtwide.