O'Farrell Community School
32°42′09.09″N 117°03′55.16″W / 32.7025250°N 117.0653222°W
| The O'Farrell Charter Schools | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
6130 Skyline Dr San Diego , CA 92114 United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public Charter School |
| Motto | I have the power to create a great life for myself |
| Opened | 1959 |
| Education system | Charter |
| Hours in school day | 7 |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Colors | Navy, gold, white |
| Sports | Football, volleyball, girls' flag football, basketball, track and field, soccer, cross country |
| Team name | Falcons |
| Rival | Maranatha Christian Tri-City Christian Mountain Empire Tubman Charter |
| Superintendent | Cindy Wagner |
| Website | http://ofarrellschool.org/ http://ingenuitycharter.org/ |
The O'Farrell Charter School (colloquially known as OCS or simply O'Farrell) is a system of public charter schools in San Diego, California, United States. The school opened its doors in San Diego Unified School District in 1959 chosen in 1957 as Mabel E. O'Farrell Junior High.[1] It was voted to become a charter school in 1994 and currently encompasses The O'Farrell Charter Elementary, Middle, High School and Ingenuity Charter School which has multiple campuses and is primarily online.
Through the years, the O'Farrell Charter School has received numerous awards and distinctions. It was named one of America's top high schools by U.S. News and World report six years in a row. It has also been named a school of distinction by National Center for Urban School Transformation. O'Farrell is an AVID National Demonstration School.
President Bill Clinton made a visit to San Diego in 1995 to sign the Goals 2000 education bill and to visit O'Farrell because it was a charter.[2]
The school was mentioned in Hillary Clinton's book It Takes a Village.[3]
Schools within a school
O’Farrell operates as a community-based charter system encompassing multiple grade levels within a single campus. It is organized into different grade-based divisions, including an elementary school, a middle school, and a separate high school, each designed to serve the developmental and academic needs of its students while maintaining a unified educational mission. The place's “schools within a school” structure allows O’Farrell to provide continuity for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade while having a strong sense of community across grade levels. All schools operate on the almost-exact same campus in the Skyline–South Encanto border area.
Each O'Farrell school has a principal and vice principal, and has a separate program, teachers, and bell schedules.
In 2014, "Ingenuity Charter School, Blended Learning Independent Study Program" was added as an official part of The O'Farrell Charter Schools. Students attend in person at one of the school's resource centers at least twice per week and work independently online on the other days.
Athletics and extracurricular activities
The O'Farrell Falcons high school athletic teams represent The O'Farrell Charter High School in various sports. All squads play under the CIF San Diego Section, the governing body for all high school sports in San Diego County and Imperial County.
O'Farrell competes in the Frontier Conference for most sports, with the exception of American football, which participates in the Coastal Conference's Sunset League alongside schools like Maranatha Christian or Victory Christian High School. Their various Frontier Conference teams are members of the Summitt League in three sports and the Patriot League in two, which is subject to switch every season.
Their notable titles include two CIF [San Diego] Championship victories both in D5 playoff brackets: in 2018 for boys' basketball and in 2025 for girls' volleyball.
Alma mater
Hail O'Farrell this our home
Our hearts be ever true
Loyalty and honor sing
The gold and royal blue
Soaring far above it all
This is our family
Forever here, forever one
Falcons ever free
Notable alumni
- Rosalie Hamlin, known for 1960 song "Angel Baby"[4]
- Shirley Horton, California assemblywoman and former mayor of Chula Vista[5]
- Tom Waits, claimed to have attended this school and remembered it as an all-black school in a 1973 interview[6]
References
- ^ "Celebrating 150 Years: The Sixties". San Diego City Schools. Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
- ^ John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. "William J. Clinton: Remarks at the O'Farrell Community School in San Diego, California". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
- ^ Clinton, Hillary (December 12, 2006). It Takes a Village. Simon and Schuster. p. 245. ISBN 1-4165-4064-4. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
o farrell san diego california charter 1994.
- ^ "The Biography of Rosie Hamlin".
- ^ "Biography of Shirley Horton". Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
- ^ "Quotes: Childhood". Tom Waits Library. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2008.