History
The school was founded in 1907 as the first private non-sectarian, non-profit elementary school in California. It descends from the Throop Polytechnic Institute founded by Amos G. Throop, the same institution that grew into the present California Institute of Technology.
In the spring of 1907, the Institute decided to focus on the college level and closed the grammar school. Citrus tycoon and powerful eugenicist Ezra S. Gosney donated $12,500, a sum matched by twelve other donors. This money allowed them to purchase the property at the present site, originally an orange grove. The school opened in October 1907 with 106 students. At the time, the school was named Polytechnic Elementary School. The school added a ninth grade in 1918 and expanded to high school in 1959. After instituting a ninth grade, the name changed to Polytechnic Elementary and Junior High School. Polytechnic ended its pre-Kindergarten program in 2005.
Read more about this topic: Polytechnic School
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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“The principal office of history I take to be this: to prevent virtuous actions from being forgotten, and that evil words and deeds should fear an infamous reputation with posterity.”
—Tacitus (c. 55–c. 120)