Santa Barbara School Districts to Celebrate 140th Anniversary

Formed on June 6, 1866, the Santa Barbara School Districts will soon be 140 years old.

Did you know that...
Santa Barbara’s educational tradition is one of the oldest in the state. Its traditions are rooted in the 18th century Spanish era where historical records indicate that in 1795 Santa Barbara had the second school in Alta California (San Jose had the first, which was opened one year earlier). Santa Barbara’s first school was located at the Presidio. The teacher was paid $125 per year; each soldier of the Presidio paid a tribute of one dollar toward the teacher’s salary.

According to research done in 1963 by Robert Christian, when the Santa Barbara School District was formed in 1866, county superintendent, Alpheus B. Thompson, reported that there were three school districts in Santa Barbara County: San Buenaventura (Ventura County did not exist at that time), Montecito, and Santa Barbara. By 1866, the schools had moved from county control to control by the electorate of the city.

The three school districts had two schools each; there were a total of six teachers. By 1867, the three districts served 340 students (243 of them in our district). The average salary in the county was $70 per month for male teachers and $62 per month for female teachers. The length of the school year varied from three to five months.

In 1870 a new school house was built on Cota Street. On April 7 of that year, the city council granted the school trustees permission to establish the first playground in the city; it was located between Ortega, Cota, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara streets. The playground was turned over to the school by the city council after the school trustees agreed to plant at least 20 shade trees and care for their growth.

On June 30 of that same year, citizens voted on a proposed tax rate of $ .70 per $100 to raise $5,000 to build a new school – Lincoln School. The Santa Barbara Times reported:

“Intelligent persons usually draw their conclusions as to the respectability and standing of a people by the institutions of learning... Let us have a decent building in which our children may be at least comfortable while they are endeavoring to obtain a knowledge that in a few years they will be called upon to exercise.”

In 1871, schools were able to accommodate about 300 students. That year, the income of the Santa Barbara School District was $11,673 ($2,973 of that amount coming from the state fund); the expenditures that year were $12,644 ($3,000 of which was paid out for teachers’ salaries).

By 1882, the community had grown and teachers were beginning to hold meetings to talk about the curriculum. At their meeting in February of that year, the subjects of drawing and penmanship were the topics of discussion. The group was divided about the use of rulers in drawing; all agreed that a correct and uniform position should be insisted upon in penmanship.

In 1884, Eugene Fawcett sold a tract of land to the school district for the construction of Franklin School. The school district paid $1,000 For the property. It is the property where Parma School is located.

The roots of early childhood education began here in 1877 when Kate Douglas Wiggin established the first kindergarten. There was opposition from the local newspaper and the program was not, at that time, accepted as part of the educational program of the state.

Then, on February 4, 1887, six local ladies formed the Kindergarten Association here. Their work gained national recognition for Santa Barbara and the city schools and, ultimately kindergartens were eventually assimilated into the school system.

The Kindergarten Association charged a $ .25 per month tuition and $12 subscribed by private citizens. The program started with seven children and by the end of the first year 77 children were enrolled. It continued to flourish and was so successful that by 1895 a new Central Kindergarten was built at a cost of $2,800. Although the kindergartens were run by the city schools, and were supported by tax money, the Kindergarten Association still primarily owned the buildings.

The daily kindergarten program began with prayer, singing, and children’s stories. After their first recess, children were taught numbers, counting, and grouping of objects. To foster language development, pictures and picture books were used. After the second recess children had free use of clay, sand tables, and engaged in paper cutting or other activities.

In many ways, the structure of today’s kindergarten program is quite similar to the program that was established at that time.

In 1898, the districts’ first music teacher was hired at $75 per month.

While there was significant progress in the educational program (curriculum, teachers, building, and philosophy, the board had a constant uphill struggle to maintain the schools adequately. However, with the dawn of the 20th century, and the vigor of the times, the Santa Barbara School District’s new five-member board set forth the first written statement of philosophy and organization for the city schools.

In 1900, the board published the Rules and Regulations of the board of Education of the City of Santa Barbara, California. It outlined the duties of the board; what was expected of everyone in the system, including students; and outlined the varied duties of the superintendent.

The school day was a little different:

Kindergartners were in session for two hours per day;
Grades 1 and 2 for 3 1/2 hours;
Grade 3 for four hours;
Grades 4–8 for 4 1/2 hours.

No homework could be assigned to pupils below the fourth grade and in the fourth grade a maximum of a half hour per night was allowed.

The board outlined duties for principal, duties for teachers, and duties for students. The pupils had 16 sections to remember, such as keeping their desks clean and avoiding the use of tobacco on the school grounds.

Read more about the history of the Santa Barbara School Districts.