Lucille Nixon Elementary School
From Palo Alto Wiki
Lucille Nixon Elementary School is the newest of 12 elementary schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD). The school reflects an architecture designed to promote a sense of space both within and around the building, with the library area serving as the central hub of the school's activities.
Contact:
- 1711 Stanford Avenue, Stanford, 94305
- Principal - Mary Pat O'Connell; Secretary - Becky Brewer.
- Tel - 650-856-1622; Fax - 650-813-1417
[edit] History
Lucille M. Nixon School was named after an outstanding Palo Alto educator. From 1958 to 1963, Lucille ("Luchi") Nixon served as consultant for curriculum and instruction for the elementary grades of the PAUSD. She had originally come to the district in 1948 as a classroom teacher. In 1956, she gained international attention when her poetry won her an audience with Japan's Emperor Hirohito. Unfortunately, she passed away in 1963 at the rather young age of 55. The Board of Education lamented her death loss, saying:
- "The district has lost a great educator, a teacher, a teacher of teachers, and above all, a creative person of remarkable stature. In a day of increasing specialization, she was able to make contributions on an astonishingly wide front which embraces reading and writing, social studies, art, literature, intercultural studies, programs for gifted students and the stimulation of creativity in young children. The district can take pride in the fact that it has created an environment in which a Lucille Nixon could develop and flourish." [1]
When the school opened in 1970, the parents and staff of the PAUSD gave tribute to the contributions made by Lucille Nixon by naming the school after her.
