150th Anniversary :: San Diego Unified School District

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Celebrating 150 Years

•	Overview
•	The Last Fifty Years
•	The First Hundred Years
•	Remembrances
•	Looking Ahead
•	Contact Information

Overview
During the 2004-05 school year, San Diego City Schools (SDCS) celebrated its 150th Anniversary. Since its inauguration on July 1, 1854, the district has grown from a small rented school building with one teacher to its current state: more than 200 educational facilities with 14,500 full-time equivalent positions, representing more than 15,800 employees.

Many notable historic events have occurred throughout our 150-year duration, such as the 1977 Carlin v. Board of Education case, which prompted an enhanced racial integration plan for SDCS. Over the years, our staff and teachers have made many significant accomplishments, such as the district's Teacher of the Year in 1990, Jan Gabay, who not only won the State Teacher of the Year Award, but was also the National Teacher of the Year.

Our mission is to improve student achievement by supporting teaching and learning in the classroom. This historical account of the last 150 years serves to showcase the district's hard work and dedication to educating our students, which is readily apparent in the daily lives and actions of our teachers, staff and San Diego community members.

The Last Fifty Years
Notable moments and historic achievements fill the last fifty years of San Diego City Schools, including massive school construction in the fifties, court cases in the sixties, the first Latino principal in the seventies, the first multi-track year-round schedules in the eighties, a teachers' strike in the nineties, and security concerns in the 21st century.

•	1950s
•	1960s
•	1970s
•	1980s
•	1990s
•	2000s

The First Hundred Years
In 1954, a commemorative publication was created to honor the first hundred years of San Diego's public education system. The book narrates district events starting with the founding of our first public school in 1850. Included are photos of the city's earliest school buildings as well as notable documents such as a salary voucher for the district's first teacher in 1854. The publication also includes changes made and challenges faced over the years while improving SDCS.

>> View 100 Years of Public Education in San Diego.

Remembrances
As a result of interviews and in response to a news release

and announcements in district publications, personal perspectives on milestones in our history are available from a myriad of sources, including Board of Education members, superintendents, district employees and community members. Additional comments will be added as they are received.

To submit a quote for publication, send 250 words or less and your contact information to communications@sandi.net or fax to (619) 725-5576. Photos with permission for publication are also invited and will be included at a later date.

Looking Ahead
A glimpse of our past offers an abundance of possibilities for our future. Just as each event mentioned and smiling face shown in this publication present the building blocks of who we are today at SDCS, so also our future will draw from these experiences to determine our growth in the years to come.

Though specific events may be uncertain, tomorrow's SDCS will continue to focus foremost on supporting our students, staff and community through improved student achievement, support of teaching and learning in the classroom, and a focus on challenging education in reading, writing and mathematics.

Contact Information
For additional information, or to submit a story, please contact the Communications Department at (619) 725-5578 or communications@sandi.net.