Old school style: Grant plans festivities to mark 100th
SUNSET PARK — The city of Santa Monica’s oldest public school is gearing up for its centennial celebration, calling on alumni and the community to indulge in a slice of city history.
Administrators at Grant Elementary School have begun preparations for the school’s 100th birthday, with plans to sponsor year-long events that tie in Santa Monica’s past with student learning. There will also be efforts made this year to invite the elementary school’s alumni to a massive class reunion in May.
Alan Friedenberg, Grant principal for 11 years, said nothing is beyond consideration for the school’s centennial achievement. Efforts are underway to add historic elements into the primary curriculum that would play on the “100” theme. Aspects about Santa Monica’s past will be brought forward in school assemblies.
Grant PTA parents discovered a wealth of old photos and newspaper clippings in the school’s time capsule that will be shared in exhibits throughout the school year.
The Santa Monica Historical Society also promises to pitch in.
The kick-off begins Sept. 8 with an outdoor gathering to include an old-fashioned fight song, written by a Grant parent, which will be bellowed out by students and teachers. The Santa Monica High School band has been invited to perform, and key Grant graduates like Councilman Richard Bloom will also be encouraged to attend.
Currently, plans are underway to construct a giant banner — “100 years of learning” — to be placed in the auditorium. T-shirts, a line of floating pens or bobble-head dolls, may also be in development, Friedenberg said, as the school is looking for ways to raise funds for events planned this fall, spring and beyond.
“Nothing lasts in this society these days,” Friedenberg said, explaining his enthusiasm for this school year. “Sometimes, I think it’s important to hit pause on the remote control and look back, a little bit, as opposed to always looking at what’s in front of you.”
One goal for Grant administrators and parents this school year is to earn money for a state-of-the-art sound system, to be used during assemblies.
But making learning fun for youngsters won’t come cheap. Friedenberg said Grant’s booster budget is $250,000 per year. However, money raised from parents is already used to sustain program-ming that isn’t sponsored by the state.
“A lot of it, we have to do on our own,” Friedenberg said.
Other schools in the district raise more than Grant’s $250,000 booster budget, others less, Friedenberg said. Point Dume, for example, is on the high side, with $500,000 in booster funds for its students.
To acquire the sound system and make other one-time “capital improvements” to Grant, Friedenberg said the school will attempt to earn an extra $100,000 this year.
Friedenberg said a few components distinguish Grant from other schools in the district. First, its 650 students are a diverse group, 46 percent of whom are minorities. There’s also economic diversity, since 30 percent of its students are considered poor. However, that percentage is just shy of qualifying the school for special state funding.
The rest of Grant’s students come from middle class households, while some are considered “quite comfortable,” Friedenberg said.
Grant is also not a mover or shaker when it comes to performance on test scores. Instead, Friedenberg characterizes Grant’s progress on state testing as “steady, but consistent.”
A $60,000 bond raised by the Santa Monica Women’s Club enabled Grant, Garfield and McKinley elementary schools to open their doors in 1906, after a small, one-bedroom unit in which one teacher taught 40 kids was deemed inadequate.
The original Grant school was located at Virginia Avenue and 22nd Street, an area then referred to as Ocean Park. The four-room school contained an office, a large central hall and a basement that was later converted into classrooms and bathrooms, according to historical sources.
By 1924, the school was becoming overcrowded as a housing boom related to the development of the Douglas Company meant more classrooms and teachers were needed.
After expanding the Virginia Avenue site, Grant School was moved to its current location at Pearl and 24th streets.
Friedenberg is pleased to be able to celebrate a part of the community’s rich history. With No Child Left Behind legislation, standards-based testing, textbooks and worksheets, education has changed in 100 years’ time, but not necessarily for the better, he said.
“It’s my intention to bring the joy back to learning,” Friedenberg said. “It’s amazing how much a 10-year-old child can remember when he or she is immersed in a wonderful book, or group project or play that stretches their imagination.
“I’m glad we do well on the tests, but I’m more concerned that kids come home excited about what they learned.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 5, 2005. Read the original PDF.