1906 Cleland 1952

Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1906, 1905

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     " . . . With the granting of a city charter to Santa Monica in 1906, the schools passed from the jurisdiction of the County Superintendent of Schools to that of the Santa Monica Board of Education. This change afforded the city an opportunity, through its Board of Education, to create its own courses of study and establish its own educational policies, in accord with the general school law of the state.

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     On May 2, 1906, the voters of Santa Monica again turned out to the polls in even larger numbers and approved the bonds by a vote of 288 to 66. The women of the Circle had once again secured a record vote approving another $60,000 worth of school bonds, an almost stupendous sum for the small beach city to assume when it had virtually no industry to help increase its assessed valuation. In 1907, the property value of the Santa Monica School District totaled $194,000 with an outstanding indebtedness of over $129,000. [25. Annual Report, Santa Monica City Schools, 1906-07, unpublished report in files of Santa Monica Board of Education.]

     As a result of the three school bond issues, six new buildings were added to the district in less than two years. The buildings ranged in size from the one-room Westside School to the large eight-room buildings for the Garfield and Jefferson schools. A brief account of some of the salient historical events is presented for each of these schools.

Garfield School

     Garfield School, the eight-room, two-story, brick building which rose at Seventh Street and Michigan Avenue at an approximate cost of $22,828, began its existence in 1906. Named for James A. Garfield, former President of the United States, the school was honored by the late President's family when James R. Garfield, then Secretary of the Interior, personally presented it with a picture of his father. [26. Josephine O'Leary, Garfield School Annual Report, Unpublished written report to the Superintendent, June, 1929; in files of Santa Monica Board of Education, p. 4.] The picture remains as a valued possession of the school today.

     Nettie B. Rice, who had been with the schools since 1903, opened Garfield School as principal with a staff of four teachers. She remained in that position until 1921, when she went into high school work. Garfield School accommodated grades one through eight, a fact which created special problems since the size of the playground prevented the older pupils from playing ball because it endangered the smaller ones in their play. Additional property soon provided the necessary play space, however.

     Some of the modern school functions that today are accepted as a matter of course, had their inception in the difficulties experienced at Garfield with its mixed pupil population. "Spanish Hills" on the south, the Chinese farm children on the north and east, side by side with a settlement of Negro families and a scattering of Italians, Japanese, and Russians-all added to the melting pot area that surrounds the school. [27. Personal interview with Sadie Jenkins, May 8, 1951; Santa Monica, California.);

     The first school cafeteria was established in the Garfield School to help provide adequate nourishment for children from some of these homes. Miss Rice described the development of the cafeteria program as follows:

     "Many of the children came to school hungry because both home and labor conditions were bad. In the belief that a hungry stomach and a fertile brain do not go hand in hand, an attempt was made to remedy the situation. For a time the Imperial Ice Company, through the kindness of Mr. J. Howard Blanchard, the owner and a member of the board of education, furnished and delivered all the skimmed milk we could use. The French Bakery at the corner of Michigan and Seventh Street, gave us all their day old bread. Children who had come to school without food were served warm milk and toast.

     "The crude little cafeteria, its only cook-stove the school furnace, was a far cry from the modern school cafeterias today, yet it served it purpose. With hard times country wide, the need at Garfield grew. Kind women, among them Mrs. Blanchard, Mrs. Carrie Parker, Mrs. Mae Fogel, and Mrs. Abbott Kinney supplied that needy with hot soup that was served to the hungry children without charge." [Pearl, op. cit., p. 36-7.]

      The first Parent-Teachers Association in Santa Monica was established at the Garfield School, its first president being Mrs. H.R. Morton. Both Mrs. Fogel and Mrs. D.G. Stephens, who assisted at the first meeting, continued their sponsorship of the organization for a number of years and were instrumental in its spreading to other schools in Santa Monica. [29. Ibid., p. 39.] The present units of the association can point with pride to the services they have rendered throughout the years to the Santa Monica City Schools.

     It was at Garfield, too, that Santa Monica's first "opportunity" or ungraded rooms were established, when Superintendent Martin discovered that pupils from the ages of eight to eighteen were still attending the primary grades. Emily Rhodes was appointed to conduct these new ungraded grammar grades, while the primary division was under the direction of Marie Donahue. The philosophy underlying the program was utilitarian in character, as evidenced by the fact that a part of the "opportunity" training was devoted to instruction in gardening. On a plot of ground adjoining the school, and loaned by its owner for the purpose, the classes planted and harvested vegetable gardens. Part of the produce was used in the school cafeteria and part was sold to provide seeds, fertilizer, and tools for the project.

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 Kelyn Roberts 2017