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 was purchased in 1853 for $900. Later, the home of Oakland High.
First High School Principal
J.B. McChesney served as the high school’s principal for many years, beginning in 1867. In 1913, a grammar school located at 13th Avenue and East 38th was named in his honor and later became known as McChesney Junior High. In 1989, it was renamed Edna Brewer Junior High, after 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 after astronomer and director of the Chabot Observatory, Charles Burckhalter, in 1927.
Clawson School was named in honor of William F. Clawson, an educator and principal at the Tompkins School until his death in 1882.
The Campbell School, located at 4th and Grove Streets, began as the Grove Street School. In 1907, it was renamed 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 (c. 1885 – c. 1926) at 10th and Union Streets opened in 1885 and was named after Dr. Rector F. Cole, president of the board of education.
E. Morris Cox School was originally known as The Elmhurst Annex. It was renamed in honor of E. Morris Cox, who died in 1925. Cox was the Assistant Superintendent of Schools.
The Durant School, located at 28th and West Streets, was formerly known as the 28th Street School, renamed in honor of the Rev. Henry Durant, head of the old Oakland College on 12th Street, which later evolved 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. It is now the Oakland Charter of Knowledge.
McClymonds High School was named after J.W. McClymonds, who was once the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District.
McFeely School was named in honor of Susan McFeely, a teacher and principal in the Oakland school district for 49 years, who retired in 1930.
Carl B. Munck Elementary was named for Carl B. Munck, who served on the school board from 1943 to the mid-1980s, 28 of those years as president.
Swett Grammar School (also known as Intermediate School No. 1) was located at 12th Avenue and East 19th Street. It was named after educator John Swett. 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 – is now Sankofa United
Named for Authors, Poets, or Historians
Longfellow School is located at 39th and Market Streets, Emerson at 48th and Webster, and Hawthorne School (formerly Fruitvale School No. 2) at Fruitvale and Talant Street. Hawthorne School is now Urban Promise Academy.
Joaquin Miller Elementary and Bret Harte Middle School
Franklin School at 9th Avenue and East 16th Street was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.
The Prescott School, located at 9th and Campbell Streets, was named after William H. Prescott, a renowned historian.
Named for Pioneers or Landowners
Chabot Elementary School was initially 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. It is now Frick United Academy of Language.
Peralta Public School – The Peraltas Spanish Pioneers and the First Family of the East Bay
Tompkins School was named for Edward Tompkins, an Oakland Pioneer.
Other Famous People
Ralph J. Bunche Elementary. The school was 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 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 lived in Northern California. It is now Burbank Preschool Center.
Lazear School (now Lazear Charter Academy), located at Twenty-Sixth Avenue and East Ninth Streets, opened in 1914. The school was named after Dr. Jesse W. Lazear, a U.S. Army surgeon. J.W. McClymonds is responsible for coming up with the name. McClymonds, 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.
The Horace Mann School originated as Melrose Heights School and was later renamed in honor of Horace Mann.
Name After The Location
The school’s location played a part in naming the earlier schools. The Bay School, located at 62nd Street and San Pablo Avenue, had a view of the bay.
Beulah School, located at Tompkins and Orchard Streets near Mills College, was part of the Beulah district.
Many were named after the district or neighborhood in which they were located.
- Claremont Middle School
- Crocker Highlands
- Elmhurst School is now Elmhurst United Middle School
- Glenview Elementary
- Grass Valley School
- Lockwood School
- Maxwell Park – is now Melrose Leadership Academy
- Montclair School –
- Rockridge School is now the Upper Campus of Technical High School
- Sheffield School –
- Sobrante Park School – Madison Park Business & Art School
- Toler Heights School is now Francophone Charter School or Barack Obama Academy
Allendale School, located at Penniman and 38th Avenues in the Allendale district, was founded in 1904 as Fruitvale School No. 3.
Highland School, located on A Street between 85th and 86th Avenues, got its name from 85th Avenue, which was formerly called Highland Street. Now called Highland Community School.
Lakeview School opened in 1914 at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Perry Street, offering 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 (now Manzanita Community School) at East 26th and 24th Avenue, Sequoia School on Lincoln Avenue, and Redwood Heights School (also located in the Redwood Heights neighborhood) on 39th Avenue.
Skyline High School, Thornhill Elementary, and Piedmont Avenue School were named after the street on which they are on.
Castlemont High School was originally called East Oakland High, but “Castlemont” was more fitting, as it resembled a castle. It is now
Hillcrest Elementary is located at the crest of the hill, and Bella Vista School is named after the 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?
Great job and many schools not included. OUSD should, if they haven’t, compile a thorough school history for the current students and for the public. It is educational from a historical perspective and when I was a student in Oakland in tge 50’s and 60’s would have enjoyed being taught about the different Oakland schools and the neighborhoods in Oakland. Parker, Bella Vista, Glenview, Crocker Highlands, Harbor Homes, Webster and University High School come to mind as Oakland schools as well as Golden Gate, Lowell, Jefferson, Markham and Edison as well as others.
Thank you. I wondering what schools did I miss? I tried my best to get them all. I didn’t do Oakland High or Technical High becasuse they both have extensive histories online.
Dorothy