A Bit of History – School Names
The first school in Oakland was founded in July,1853 with sixteen students. Miss Hannah J. Jayne a member of a pioneer family after whom Jayne Street is named ,was the first teacher. The school was located at Twelfth and Jefferson Streets and as purchased in 1853 for $900. Later the home of Oakland High.
First High School Principal
J.B. McChesney was the first principal of the high school for many years, starting in 1867. In 1913 a grammar school at 13th Avenue and East 38th was named in his honor and later called McChesney Junior High. In 1989 was renamed Edna Brewer Junior High, a long-time principal at the school.
Named for School Officials or Civic Leaders
Like McChesney School, many schools in Oakland were named after school officials, principals, and teachers.
Burckhalter Elementary School was named for astronomer and director of the Chabot Observatory Charles Burckhalter in 1927.
Clawson School was named in honor of William F. Clawson, who was an educator and the principal at the Tompkins School until his death in 1882.
Campbell School at 4th and Grove Streets started out as the Grove Street School. In 1907 they renamed it in honor of Oakland’s first superintendent of Oakland Schools, Frederick ‘Fred’ M. Campbell. Campbell’s daughter Mary was a teacher and then principal for 32 years ending in 1926. In the early 1950s, the school was closed.
Cole Grammar School (c1885 – c1926) at 10th and Union Streets opened in 1885 and was named after Dr. Rector F. Cole, who served as president of the board of education.
E. Morris Cox School was first called The Elmhurst Annex. It was renamed to honor of E. Morris Cox who died in 1925. Cox was the Assistant Superintendent of Schools.
Durant School at 28th and West Streets was the 28th Street School was renamed in honor of the Rev. Henry Durant, head of the old Oakland College on 12th Street, which grew into the University of California.
Kaiser Elementary was named in honor of Henry J. Kaiser Jr., an industrialist, and civic leader.
Howard Elementary on Fontaine Ave was named after Charles P Howard, a civic leader.
McClymonds High School was named after J.W. McClymonds, who at one time was the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District.
McFeely School was named in honor Susan McFeely teacher and principal in the Oakland school district for 49 years prior to her retirement in 1930.
Carl B. Munck Elementary was named for Carl B. Munck, who was a school board member from 1943 to the mid-1980s, 28 of those years as the president.
Swett Grammar School l (also known as Intermediate School No. 1) was located at 12th Avenue and East 19th Street. was named after John Swett ,an educator. In 1913 this historic school became the first of the lower high schools (junior high or middle School.) In 1926 a new school was built on Steele St.
Named After Presidents
Many schools in Oakland are named after presidents.
- Cleveland School
- Garfield School
- Harrison Grammar
- Hoover Junior High
- Lincoln Elementary
- James Madison
- Roosevelt High School
- Washington School
Named for Authors, Poets, or Historians
Longfellow School at 39th and Market streets, and Emerson at 48th and Webster and Hawthorne School (was Fruitvale School No. 2)at Fruitvale and Talant Street.
Joaquin Miller Elementary and Bret Harte Middle School
Franklin School at 9th Avenue and East 16th Street was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.
Prescott School at 9th and Campbell streets was named for William H. Prescott, a historian.
Named for Pioneers or Landowners
Chabot Elementary School was originally called the Claremont Annex School and was renamed Anthony Chabot School in 1927.
Frick Grammar School (later a junior high) located at 62nd and Foothill Blvd was opened in 1912. It was named after Walter P. Frick, a well-known lumberman who donated the land for the school.
Peralta Public School – Named
Tompkins School was named for Edward Tompkins, an Oakland Pioneer.
Other Famous People
Ralph J. Bunche Elementary The school named for Ralph Johnson Bunche (1903-1971). He taught Political Science at Howard University and was the first African American to get a Ph.D. in political science from an American university. He worked with helped Martin Luther King Jr. He was the first African American to be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. He helped form the United Nations and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President John F. Kennedy.
Burbank Elementary was named after Luther Burbank, a botanist, and horticulturist who made his home in Northern California.
Lazear School at Twenty-Sixth Avenue and East Ninth Streets opened in 1914. The school was named after Dr. Jesse W. Lazear, an army surgeon. J.W. McClymonds is responsible for coming up with the name. McClymonds, who was a superintendent for the Oakland schools, voiced his belief.
“that schools should be named after persons who had accomplished something in the world’s work.”
JW McCymonds 1913
Dewey School at 37th Avenue and East 12 Street after George Dewey was an Admiral in the Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.
Fremont High School was named for John Charles Frémont, an American explorer, military officer, and politician.
Horace Mann School started out as Melrose Heights school and was later renamed Horace Mann.
Name After Location
The school’s location played a part in the naming of the earlier schools. Bay School at 62nd Street and San Pablo Avenue had a view of the bay. Beulah School at Tompkins and Orchard Streets near Mills College was in the Beulah district.
Many were named for the district or neighborhood they were in.
- Claremont Middle School
- Crocker Highlands
- Elmhurst school
- Glenview Elementary
- Grass Valley School
- Lockwood School
- Maxwell Park
- Montclair School
- Rockridge School
- Sheffield School
- Toler Heights School
Allendale School at Penniman and 38th avenues in the Allendale district started out as Fruitvale School No 3. in 1904.
Highland School on A Street between 85th and 86th Avenues got its name from 85th Ave formally called Highland Street.
Lakeview School opened in 1914 at Grand Avenue, and Perry Street has a view of the lake. The school began as an annex to Grant School on Broadway (later moved to Pill Hill) and is located on Perry Street. Westlake Middle School is west of Lake Merritt.
Santa Fe School at 54th and Adeline Streets in the Santa Fe Tract.
Nature played a part in the naming of some schools. Laurel School on Kansas Street, Manzanita at East 26th and 24th Avenue, Sequoia School on Lincoln Ave, and you could include Redwood Heights School (also in the Redwood Heights neighborhood)on 39th Ave.
Skyline High School, Thornhill Elementary, and Piedmont Avenue School were named after the street they are on.
Castlemont High School was first called East Oakland High. But Castlemont was more fitting as it looked like a castle.
Hillcrest Elementary is at the crest of the hill, and Bella Vista School, Bella Vista means beautiful view.
More Info:
- Grant School on Broadway – Oakland Tribune July 1885
- Clawson School – Oakland Tribune Feb 8, 1942
- History of Oakland Schools – Oakland Tribune Nov 30, 1913
- School to Bear Roosevelt’s Name – Oakland Tribune Jan 14, 1919
What a wonderful post! All three of my schools–elementary, middle, and high schools–were mentioned in this article.
Very interesting and so fun to read.. Thank you, Dorothy for all the work you put into this to share with us…
Nan Greig
This is a wonderful post, Dorothy, thanks so much! It’s so meaningful to me, of course, because I attended four of Oakland’s schools—Sequoia, Bret Harte, Montera, and Skyline. When I was at Sequoia (1952-58), the building shown in your photo was still there and was called the “Old Building” to distinguished from the so-called, “New Building.” I’m still in close touch with many of my former classmates at Sequoia, many of us graduated from Skyline together.
Thanks for all the work you do on these posts. I’m know you enjoy it, but it’s a lot of work. It adds tremendously to the history of our beloved Oakland. I hope you are doing well. —Bob
Interesting history. In schools named after locations, I’d like to add Piedmont Avenue Elementary, and note the Roosevelt is (or was) a junior high school. Thanks for all of this great information!!
Thanks for sharing. What about Montera?