| Dana Middle School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| San Diego (Point Loma), California, United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Middle School |
| Motto | Learning Together @ Light Speed |
| Established | 1949 |
| Principal | Diane Ryan |
| Grades | 5-6 |
| School Color(s) | Green and White |
| Mascot | Mariners |
| Website | http://www.danamiddle.com/ |
Richard Henry Dana Middle School is a public middle school in San Diego, California, part of the San Diego Unified School District. It was originally built in 1949. It serves approximately 820 students in grades 5 and 6. It is located in the Loma Portal neighborhood of Point Loma. It draws students from all seven elementary (K-4) schools in the "Point Loma Cluster", as well as accepting students on a space-available basis from throughout the district under the District's Volunteer Enrollment Exchange Program (VEEP) and Open Enrollment Program.[1]
Contents |
Designed to double as a cold-war bomb shelter, Dana opened in 1949 as a junior high school serving grades 7-9. The school was named after Richard Henry Dana, Jr., author of the book Two Years Before the Mast which described the San Diego and Point Loma areas in the 1830s. Before the opening of Dana, students in grades 7-9 attended Point Loma Junior-Senior High School, now Point Loma High School.
In 1983, the school was closed as part of sweeping changes occasioned by declining enrollment. Prior to the realignment, two area junior high schools (Dana and Collier) served grades 7-9, and fed Point Loma High School which served grades 10-12. After the realignment, Dana was closed; Collier was renamed after artist Steven V. Correia and restricted to grades 7-8; and Point Loma High became a four-year school serving grades 9-12.
In the wake of the closure, the school district clashed with local residents. The district sought to lease or divest the Dana site; community activists, led by Ann Tripp Jackson (then president of the Point Loma Association), lobbied for its reopening as a school. Jackson's efforts led, among other victories, to the school site's being permanently rezoned for educational use.[2] During the protracted battle, however, the site stood vacant for 10 years.
Finally, it was reopened in 1993 to serve as a school district office building.[3] Community support for returning Dana to its use as a school remained strong. In 1998, state-mandated school occupancy guidelines provided the final impetus for reopening Dana as a school.[4] Another major realignment of local schools took place, with local elementary schools becoming K-4, and Dana reopening as a central school for all local 5-6 graders.
Today, the school continues as a 5-6 grade middle school. The school's auditorium was christened the Ann Tripp Jackson Auditorium to honor Jackson and others who led the successful preservation effort.
In October 2011 the school district proposed closing Dana and a dozen other district schools as a cost -saving measure. The proposal would have sent Point Loma area fifth graders back to elementary school, while combining grades 6, 7 and 8 at Correia Middle School.[5] However, the district withdrew the proposal after a community outcry, including a "save our schools" rally at Dana attended by 600 people.[6]
Extra-curricular student programs offered at Dana include: