In 1875, Civil War veteran Nathaniel Robinson organized the Artesia School District in a two-story building with one classroom on each floor at 183rd Street and Alburtis Avenue. The schoolyard was split down the middle to separate the boys from the girls. In 1965, the Artesia district, the Bloomfield Elementary School District and Carmenita School District merged to form the ABC Unified School District.
Bellflower schools unified in 1956, five years after Bellflower High opened. Downey High opened in 1929 but the city didn’t form its own unified school district until 1961. Four years later, the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District was established following aunification election.
Disaster hit schools – Long Beach’s first high school burned down during Christmas break in 1918. Dozens of area schools were heavily damaged in the 1933 earthquake. Ruth Smith, who was then a student at Poly High, was eating dinner at home when the quake struck. Her family’s house survived but she was heartbroken when she saw that much of her school had collapsed…