• Home
  • History
    • Our Newsletters
    • Digitized Newspapers & Other Documents
      • Local News Clippings
      • Digitized Mustang Student Newspapers
      • Digitized Panoramic Photos
    • The San Dieguito Hall of Fame
    • Notable Alumni
    • Principals at San Dieguito
    • Our Fallen Alumni Memorial
    • Our Bell Tower
    • Our Mustang Legacy Project
      • About the project
      • Phase 1 Brick Inscriptions
      • Phase 2 Brick Inscriptions
      • Phase 3 Brick Inscriptions
      • Phase 4 Brick Inscriptions
      • The Stories Behind the Bricks
  • Join Us!
    • Alumni Committee
    • Join the mailing list
    • Need to change your address?
    • Don’t be fooled by alumni scam sites!
  • Support
    • Mustang Legacy Project
    • Sponsor our newsletter
    • Donate Time
    • Donate Memorabilia
    • Donate Dollars
  • Mustang Store
  • Contact
    • Class Representatives
    • Obituaries
      • Alumni
      • Faculty
      • Staff
  • News
  • Calendar
  • Like us on Facebook

Mustang Memories

The Official San Dieguito Alumni Website

You are here: Home / History

History

On January 7, 1936, the people in the South Coast elementary districts voted 524 to 28 to form a new high school district. Encinitas voted 202 to 8 yes, Cardiff 102 to 0 yes, Solana Beach 96 to 3 yes, Del Mar 40 to 1 yes, Green Valley 14 to 0 yes, and Olivenhain 21 to 0 yes. — “The History of San Dieguito Union High school District 1936-1981,” by Robert Williamson

Nine months later, on September 14, 1936, students attended their first day of classes at the new San Dieguito Union High School.

Members of the class of 1937
Members of the class of 1937
Classrooms had not been built yet, so Cardiff School took in the junior high students and Encinitas Primary School (on the Pacific View Elementary School site) took in the senior high.

There weren’t enough classrooms for the senior high at the Pacific View site, so the District purchased tents from the Los Angeles School District for $10 each. In the 1937 and 1938 Hoofprints, you may see members of the sports teams posing in front of those tents.

Across the street at the Methodist Community Church, Mrs. Janie Hammond Grice cooked meals and carted them over when it was time to eat. Mrs. Grice only learned how to cook after she’d married, yet she successfully managed the school cafeteria for 30 years.

The district board hired Miss Lilian J. Rice to design the school. One of the first two women to graduate from UC Berkeley’s School of Architecture, Miss Rice had a deep respect for Southern California’s history and tradition, and created a beautiful campus with open courtyards and covered walkways.

Sign up for the monthly eBlast!

Keep up with the latest news from the Alumni Association with our monthly email newsletter. Sign up with your email address to receive updates about reunions and other alumni events.

We take your privacy concerns seriously and we will never sell nor trade your information. We will share it with your registered class representative for the purposes of reunion-planning only.

Copyright© 2023 · SDA Foundation / San Dieguito Alumni Association