From those indelible moments of the past to the cutting-edge teachings of today, Rancho Santa Fe School District has always prided itself on an invaluable partnership with the community and families it serves. In fact, it is the efforts, dedication, and contributions of our many devoted parents that create the quality environment we so enjoy. Our Foundation is responsible for funding programs and staff that otherwise would not be available to us. In addition, our families are active and involved in programs and events that take place both in the classroom and out.
The partnership with our community is the ideal compliment to the on-going endeavors of our highly-qualified staff, devoted administrators and tireless board members. The mission of Rancho Santa Fe School District is to ensure each child masters the knowledge and skills necessary to become a contributing, productive citizen. We strongly believe it is the harmony between all respective stakeholders that continues to make this vision a reality.
As an ever-growing, vital part of the Rancho Santa Fe community, our attractive, well-maintained campus is located just steps away from the quaint downtown of Rancho Santa Fe on the corner of La Granada and Avenida De Acacias.
We invite you to learn more about us via this website or by visiting us in person.
Rancho Santa Fe School 1905 - Present
In 1905, Ferdinand Cohen and his neighbors erected a one-room, wood-frame school building and named it the Aliso Canyon School. As years went on, and particularly after the Santa Fe Land Company began to develop what is now Rancho Santa Fe, the number of families in the area increased. In the early 1920's, students moved into the Village of Rancho Santa Fe where a new Lillian Rice-designed building, located on the northwest corner of La Granada and Paseo Delicias, was being completed. The first graduating class had one student, Ivy Fidero (Laughter) who still resides near the site of the original Aliso Canyon School. Not long ago, Mrs. Laughter and Principal Glenda Sumida (also a Ranch School graduate) unveiled the "First School" historical plaque.
In 1927 we officially became the Rancho Santa Fe School District. By 1931 there were more students on the Ranch, and it was time to construct a larger schoolhouse (now the Association building); 35-40 students, with two teachers, moved into the building in the early 1930's. Rancho Santa Fe was slowly being discovered, and by 1947 there were 47 students in grades K-6. By the early 1950's, the school population had increased to more than 100 and the Association building was no longer large enough. It also failed to meet new California earthquake standards, so a third (and present) school site on La Granada and Avenida de Acacias was selected. The first seven-room building here was completed in 1955. Numbers continued to grow, and in 1960 some classes returned to the Association building. Then, in 1961, the school grew by way of a second four-room wing and 220 nore students in grades K-6, all together on the same campus.
About that time, the community was recognizing the need for a library and the district sold 1/3 of an acre to the new Library Guild for $1.00. This was the first of several transactions between Guild and school that helped make possible both a lovely library for the community and rewarding facilities and programs for our students. By 1968, the school was bulging again and the community approved construction bonds and authorized the return of 7th and 8th graders from the Junior High in Solana Beach. In 1971, Rancho Santa Fe School saw the completion of the Middle School and present administration building, allowing all students in grades K-8 to be educated at the local school. Following a very generous contribution by Gene Fletcher, and the dedication of a new Rancho Santa Fe Youth Board (with original members guarantying construction loans for up to $10,000 each), a school gym and youth center was constructed.
The community and its school population continued to grow, slowly but inexorably, over the next years with classes housed, at various times, in the Fire Station and in portable classrooms located on school and Association property. The Middle School library and auditorium, as well as art and computer rooms, were also being used for classrooms by the late 1980s. In March of 1991, district residents overwhelmingly approved a bond measure, and the two story building was completed in time for September, 1992, classes. The new addition features 10 classrooms, a large art studio, a modern science/computer lab, and facilities for special education and music.
From the parents and neighbors who constructed the Aliso Canyon School of 1905, to the community-supported school addition of 1992, and programs of the present, Rancho Santa Fe has worked to plan and provide well for its children, that they might be prepared to become participating and successful citizens. We seek to provide a school which academically and in all regards reflects our splendid community and enhances the values and welfare of all our citizens.
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